


Anything...

by filmfanatic82



Series: Anything... [1]
Category: Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-12
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-10-31 02:27:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 34,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10889763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/filmfanatic82/pseuds/filmfanatic82
Summary: "So this is how Trini’s life is going to end.At 16 years old. In some remote, unmarked cavern. Lying amongst mounds of debris and rubble with a million plus year old, green glowing, freakazoid’s hands wrapped around her neck.Trini could think of more than a few better ways to go, but at least she isn’t going to die a virgin.A silver lining, right?"-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Trini Gomez would sacrifice anything for Kimberly Hart... absolutely anything.





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_ So this is how Trini’s life is going to end.  _

_ At 16 years old. In some remote, unmarked cavern. Lying amongst mounds of debris and rubble with a million plus-year-old, green glowing, freakazoid’s hands wrapped around her neck.  _

_ Trini could think of a more than a few better ways to go, but at least she isn’t going to die a virgin.  _

_ A silver lining, right? _

“TRINI!!!” Kimberly screams reverberate throughout the cavern. 

Trini immediately snaps out of her thoughts. She glances over at Kimberly, battered and bruised beyond recognition, and instantly feels the cracks start to spread across her heart. 

_ Trini knew as soon as Billy had begun to walk her and Zack through the game plan that this wasn’t going to be easy. Physically… Emotionally… Even mentally.  It was going to be nothing short of a gauntlet. _

_ But, then again, nothing about being a teenaged superhero is ever easy. So why should this moment be any different? _

_ Now, though, having to fully accept the look of pain and confusion on Kimberly’s face, Trini finally understood why. _

_ This moment is different because of Kimberly.  _

Trini’s eyes dart across the cavern and hone in on Zack. They exchange a brief, unspoken look of uncertainty. There’s a significant likelihood that this could be the end but neither of them can dwell on that now.

“Get her outta here!”

“But--” Zack hesitates, clearly torn on what to do. It’s taking every ounce of willpower not to ignore Trini’s instructions and jump into action. 

The hands wrap tighter. Trini squirms, bucking her body in a last-ditch attempt to get some sort of leverage to gain the upper hand. But it’s of little use. She’s pinned.

“NOW ZACK!”

Zack blinks back his tears and swallows his ever-growing emotions. He gives Trini a firm, reassuring nod and then without another moment’s hesitation wraps his arms around Kimberly. 

“Aye aye, Crazy Girl.”

“What? No! No! We can’t just leave her!!!” Kimberly screams out in a full-blown panic as the realization of what’s about to occur sets in. She thrashes against Zack’s body, using every ounce of strength she has left to try and break free. 

Kimberly isn’t going anywhere without a fight. 

“It’s gonna be okay, Princess. Promise.” Trini flashes Kimberly a half-smirk, half-smile and then forces herself to look away. She knows that if she doesn’t, then she won’t be able to go through with what needs to happen next. 

“Do it, Billy,” Zack yells into his wrist communicator.

“Trini! No! I… I love--” Kimberly’s words cut out as the sound of teleporter echoes throughout the cavern. 

Trini glances back just in time to see both Zack and Kimberly de-materialize into thin air. A momentary sense of relief washes over her. 

_ Kimberly is safe.  _

_ And for now… nothing else seems to matter.  _

“Any last words?”

////////////////

TWO MONTHS EARLIER

///////////////

“Stop squirming,” Kimberly reminds Trini for the umpteenth time while repositioning her head back down.

POP. 

The all too familiar sound of the clippers coming to life fills the bedroom.

_ Trini should be used to this. Kimberly has been “volunteering” to clean up her undercut on a weekly basis now for well over a month. Every Thursday afternoon during their after-school study sessions. _

_ And why does the word “volunteering” deserve air quotes? Because it really isn’t volunteering at all… No, it’s more like a well-rehearsed play.  _

_ One where Kimberly starts off by making an indirect comment on why Trini never wears her hair up… which then naturally leads to Trini putting up her hair… which triggers Kimberly to offer to clean up her undercut… which somehow always results in Trini sitting in the middle of her bedroom, a towel draped around her shoulders while Kimberly works her magic.  _

_ Every Thursday. Just like clockwork. _

_ And why? Simple. Because Trini can’t say no to Kimberly. _

“Am not,” Trini grumbles back under her breath. She lets out a nervous sigh and then tucks her chin down into her chest. “What’s taking so long, anyway?”

“Thought I’d try something new.” 

“New?” Trini voice slightly cracks as she chokes down a breath of air. 

“Yeah,” Kimberly hums in response. She gently guides Trini’s head to the side and re-adjusts her grip on the clippers. “I saw this awesome undercut design on my Instagram feed yesterday. Kinda looked like a mandala. But not as intricate.”

“A man-what?”

“A mandala. It’s a Hindu symbol. You know that painting that’s across from the bathroom in my house? That’s a mandala.”

“You’re carving a hand into the back of my head?!” Trini’s voice jumps up an octave as panic sets in.

“Yes. Along with my initials,” Kim quipped. “Now hold still, or I’m gonna fuck it up.”

_ Trini tries to remind herself to breathe. In through her nose and then out through her mouth. And again… And again…  _

_ All she needs to do is keep breathing. _

“What? No snarky comeback?” Kimberly turns off the clippers and then brushes her fingers over Trini’s newly shorn nape, admiring her handiwork. A small, but noticeable smile crawls across her lips. 

Trini catches sight of Kimberly’s smile in the mirror on the wall directly across from her and can’t help but match it.

_ God, that smile… It’s fastly becoming Trini’s favorite sight in the whole entire world. _

“I like to leave you guessing, Princess.” 

Kimberly lets a chuckle slip. “Ah, that’s better. Knew you couldn't hold back for long.”

Kimberly unties the towel around Trini’s shoulders and starts to go about cleaning up.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Riiiight.”

Trini gets up from the chair and makes her way across the room towards the mirror. She takes a moment, letting her fingers trace over the design. 

The lines weave their way up Trini’s neck, criss crossing over each other to create a simplistic yet beautiful pattern. 

It’s nothing short of badass, and she knows it.

“So?” Kimberly comes up from behind Trini, playfully twirling one of her fingers around a loose strand of Trini's ponytail. “What do you think?”

“Not bad.” Trini shrugs with her signature cocky smirk.

“Really? That’s it? Not bad?”

“I’ve seen better.”

Kimberly shakes her head and rolls her eyes at Trini in half annoyment and half amusement. “I think the words you’re looking for is thank you.”

Trini takes one more look in the mirror, then reaches up and pulls out her ponytail, completely hiding any traces of her undercut whatsoever.

“C’mon. Can’t you leave it up? Just for a little bit?” Kimberly finishes tucking away her tools within Trini’s desk drawer. 

“No can do. My mom would so lose her shit if she knew about this.” Trini settles down on the bed and pretends to dive back into where they left off in their bio textbook. 

Kimberly plops herself down next to Trini and begins to run her fingers through Trini’s wavy locks.

“You should let me cut it shorter.”

“No.” Trini immediately grows tense as her internal walls skyrocket upwards. She doesn’t want to have this conversation. Not now and definitely not with Kimberly. “What part of my mom will lose her shit did you not understand?”

An uncomfortable silence seeps in between them as Trini waits for Kimberly’s response… but it doesn’t come. Not yet.

Instead, Kimberly’s eyes hone in on Trini, ever so carefully boring tiny holes within walls. 

_ Those eyes… Trini can’t help but wonder how someone could have eyes like that. Eyes that seem to be able to penetrate one’s soul with just a single, solidarity glance.  _

_ Eyes that no matter how hard she tries, Trini can’t seem to hide from.  _

“But what do you want?” Kimberly finally responds with nothing more than a whisper. 

_ Such a simple question and yet, Trini finds herself utterly tongue-tied. She doesn’t even know where to start. There are just too many ways to answer it.  _

_ Trini wants to be able to get dressed in the morning and not feel like she’s letting her mother down merely by choosing to wear a pair of baggy jeans over a skirt. She wants to be able to hold someone’s hand without feeling like she’s being judged by everyone around her. To be able to call someone her girlfriend without living in fear of the ramifications that that one word might bring… _

_ No. Scratch that. Trini doesn’t want to call just anyone her girlfriend. She wants to call one specific person her girlfriend… but that’s just some pipe dream better left for late night “what if” thoughts. _

_ Kimberly Hart is straight. Straighter than straight. She’s the cheerleading, popular, date the most alpha male athlete, sorta straight.   _

_ Kimberly Hart would never be more than just a friend no matter how much Trini wishes for it. _

Trini abruptly sits up and moves off of the bed, putting space between herself and Kimberly. It’s the only thing she can do at the moment in order to maintain some sort of front.  

“It doesn’t matter.”

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Trini zig-zags her way down the semi-crowded hallway, trying her best to blend into the background. She’s come to learn that it’s easier this way. To keep her head down and be invisible. 

If they can’t see her, then they can’t single her out.

“Hey, Trini! Wait up.” Jason shouts as he emerges from amongst the crowd. He jogs over in an attempt to catch up with Trini. 

Trini lets out a sigh and slows down.

_ So much for being invisible. _

_ It’s not like Trini doesn’t like Jason. Well, at first, maybe just a little bit… but now, after everything they’ve been through, she can’t help but see him as the big brother she never had.  _

_ What Trini can’t stand is the way that Jason manages to call attention to things. Of course, in a brotherly, “I’m just looking out for you” sorta way, but none the less, it’s still annoying.  _

_ Even months later and Trini’s still not used to people even acknowledging her, let alone having impromptu conversations in the hallways. _

“Sup,” Trini mumbles while fiddling with the straps of her backpack. 

“You’re still on for this afternoon? I know you said you were, but wanted to double check.” 

Trini nods in response. She shifts from foot to foot, trying her best not to look too awkward. 

“Good. Zordon mentioned something the other day about sensing some shift in the energy levels. Could be nothing, but figure some extra training couldn’t hurt, right?” 

“Right.” 

“Cool. I’m gonna--” Jason gets cut off as a freakishly large, ponytail clad boy, knocks into his shoulder. His hand immediately shoots up, rubbing the spot of contact. “Geez.” 

“Yo! Watch where you’re going, asshole,” Trini shouts after the boy and then turns her attention back to Jason. “You okay?”

“Yeah. All good.”

“Who was that?”

Jason cranes his neck around, trying to get a better look, but it’s of little use. The boy has already disappeared back into the sea of students. 

“Not sure. Maybe Teddy? Or Tommy? Think he’s new here.”

The bell rings, cutting through the steady chatter of the hallway. Students start to scatter, all heading to their respective classes.

“Catch ya later?” Jason flashes Trini a smile and then takes off down the hallway at a slightly exaggerated jog.

“Yeah. Later.”

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

_ Gym class.  _

_ The two words that Trini has come to dread with a fiery passion in her short time at Angel Grove High. It isn’t the actual class itself she hates. Ironically-- or not so ironically depending on how it’s looked at-- she loves sports.  _

_ What Trini hates about gym class, though, is the before and after portions… specifically, the locker room portions. _

“Alright, Ladies. Hurry it up. Everyone needs to be out on the bleaches in the next five.” 

Trini sits on the bench, in the middle of the locker room, still fully dressed. Unlike the girls around her, she makes no attempt to change whatsoever. 

“Ugh. Stop staring at me!” Amanda's voice carries a bit too much over the semi-crowded room. 

_ Trini doesn’t have to look up to know that the comment is directed at her. It’s always directed at her…  _

“Wasn’t starin’,” Trini mumbles while keeping her eyes fixated on the lockers in front of her. “And even if I was, it’s not like you’ve got much worth starin’ at anyways.”

A chorus of snickers erupts from those within earshot. It’s a somewhat low blow, and Trini knows it. 

“Fucking dyke.”

Trini automatically straightens herself up at these words. She slowly rises from the bench, locking eyes with Amanda. 

_ Deep, down inside, Trini knows she should just let it go. That any move she makes next, except for walking away, will only lead to trouble.   _

But Trini can’t just let it go… 

“Say it again,” Trini growls in response. Her hands clench into fists, channeling the rage coursing through her veins. 

Amanda takes a step closer, never once taking her eyes off of Trini. She isn’t planning on backing down either.

“I said, you’re a fucking dyke.”

Trini start to lunge at Amanda--

“Gomez! My office NOW,” echoes throughout the locker room, bringing everyone to a crashing halt. Busted.

A victorious smirk crawls across Amanda’s face. “Yeah Gomez. Her office.”

With that, Amanda and her lackeys make their way out of the locker room.

Trini collapses back onto the bench, runs her hands through her hair and lets out a frustrated sigh. “Fuck.”

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Again Alpha 5,” Trini calls out while stretching her neck from side to side. 

_ It has been three hours… Three hours since Trini has gotten another month of Saturday detention thanks to her little run-in with Amanda.  _

_ Three hours of running the training simulation over and over again. Regardless of how many frantic “But Master Trini…” warnings Alpha 5 chirps at her. _

_ Three hours of pummeling virtual putties again… and again… and again… _

“But Master Trini, your hand--”

“AGAIN!” Trini cuts Alpha 5 off with a burst of pent-up anger.  

Alpha 5 scurries out of the pit, not wanting to stick around for Trini’s full wrath.

Trini gets herself into her ready stance, itching for another round. 

_ Trini knows that she should probably stop.  _

_ Her left-hand throbs with a white-hot pain that she’s come to learn over the past few months signifies that something is broken. Most likely it’s her knuckles but possibly her wrist as well. Too hard to tell at the moment…    _

“What are you doing?” Jason emerges from the top of the pit. 

“Bakin’ cookies.” 

Jason makes his way down into the pit and approaches Trini. He instantly spots the state of her left hand and grows concerned.

“We aren’t supposed to train alone. You know that.” 

“Yeah well I needed the practice,” Trini mumbles with a shrug. 

“You okay?”

An awkward silence falls between the two of them as Jason patiently waits for Trini to respond. 

But Trini can’t seem to find the words. Instead, she shifts from side to side, growing more and more uncomfortable in her own skin with each and every passing second. 

“Holy shit, your hand!” Kimberly’s voice cuts through the silence.

Trini closes her eyes and lets out a light sigh. “Shit.”

Kimberly scrambles down into the pit and immediately makes a beeline towards Trini. She takes hold of Trini’s left hand, bringing it upwards into the light for a better view. 

There’s no denying it… it’s bad.

 

“Trini…”

“I’m fine.” Trini attempts to free her hand from Kimberly’s grasp, but it’s of little use. Kimberly’s not letting go.

“No, you’re not. Jase, get the medkit. Billy stashed it away in the bunk room. Next to the desk.”

“On it.”

Jason takes off, out of the pit, leaving Kimberly alone with Trini.

Kimberly leads Trini over towards a nearby pile of boulders and directs her to sit down. She squats down, taking a closer look at Trini’s mangled hand. “What happened?”

“Nuthin’” Trini manages to respond, unable to bring herself to look Kimberly in the eyes. She knows that once she does… it’s all over. Trini won’t be able to keep up her facade.

Kimberly, though, isn’t buying it. She reaches out and ever so carefully lifts Trini’s chin with her fingertips. 

“Hey. Look at me.” 

Trini swallows thickly and with what little course she has left, opens her eyes. 

_ And that’s all it takes. Trini feels the cracks start to spread across her walls. She can’t resist those rich chocolate orbs staring back at her.  _

“That’s better.” Kimberly smiles. “Where were you after school? I swung by at your locker after English, but you never showed.”

“I bounced early.”

“Rough day?” Kimberly tucks a loose strand of hair behind Trini’s ear.

“You could say that.” Trini exhales. 

“Well let’s change that, shall we?” 

Kimberly reaches in and plants a tender kiss on Trini’s cheek.  

_ And at that very moment, Trini realizes just how utterly fucked she really is. There’s no denying it nor trying to hide from the truth any longer…  _

_ Trini is head over heels in love with Kimberly Hart. _   
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There’s no way Kimberly could like her. Or at least like her in that way.
> 
> Kimberly’s straight...or is she?  
> \-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Trini takes a metaphorical trip to the land of self-doubt while trying to decipher whether or not she could ever have a chance with Kimberly.

Chapter 2

“Marry me.”

“Dude. Chew with your mouth closed. I don’t need to see that.”

Zack flashes a cheesy smile as he pops the last of the empanada into his mouth. He groans in a post foodgasm state of bliss. “No, seriously. Marry me.”

Trini rolls her eyes in response and continues to heat up the rest of the empanadas. She carefully pulls them out of the microwave and stacks them up into a somewhat neat pyramid on a nearby paper plate. There’s more than enough empanadas there to feed a family of five, let alone just Zack and his mom.  

“How many does your mom want?”

Zack leans back in his chair, cranes his head towards the bedroom and shouts a few unfamiliar words in Mandarin. There’s a momentary pause and then Zack’s mom responses back from the bedroom.

“She says two.” 

Without another word, Trini separates out two empanadas out onto a smaller plate and then goes about pouring a glass of water and grabbing a napkin. She makes her way through the narrow passageway that connects the main room to the bedroom, attempting to balance the plate and the water glass with only one hand -- her good hand -- as she does. It isn’t an easy feat, to say the least.

_ Trini has been religiously coming over to Zack’s place, every Tuesday night with food, since a week after their impromptu campfire bonding session.  _

_ At first, she would try and come up with an excuse as to why she had brought it over. Her mom made too much for dinner, or her abuela was in visiting and refused to stop cooking. And Zack would nod in acceptance and then enthusiastically dig into whatever smorgasbord Trini had brought without any further questions. _

_ But, after a while, Trini found herself feeling less and less of a need to make up an excuse. She would just show up, food in hand, and then spend the next few hours hanging out with Zack and his mom.  _

_ And it felt right. Like how being in a home should feel. _

“Zack, it’s hot as balls in here,” Trini calls over her shoulder as she makes her way into the bedroom. 

Zack’s mom gives her a warm, comforting smile as Trini sets the plate of empanadas in front of her. 

_ Although Trini has only ever exchanged a few words in broken English with the woman, she's come to view her as a sorta second mom… A mom that loves her unconditionally. No judgments nor strings attached. _

“Shit. Not again.” Zack enters the bedroom and makes a beeline for the A/C unit. “Third time this week, man.”

“Here. Let me take a look.” Trini pushes Zack aside and squats down in front of the unit, causing her hair to cascade into her face. She attempts to tuck the loose strands behind her ears, but it’s of little use. Within a mere second, it becomes untucked again.

Trini let’s out a frustrated sigh, grabs a hair tie from her wrist, and swoops her hair up into a ponytail.

“Whoa. When you get that done?” 

Trini self-consciously touches her undercut and immediately grows a bit tense feeling Zack’s eyes on her.

“Dunno. A few weeks ago.”

“Weeks? No way. That shit’s super fresh.”

Zack reaches up to touch Trini’s nape, but she slaps his hand away.

“Don’t.”

“C’mon, Crazy Girl. Don’t be like that. It’s sick.” 

Zack turns back towards his mom and starts to rapid-fire words in mandarin at her. His mom answers back matching his level of enthusiasm. 

“Beautiful.” Zack’s mom gestures to Trini and then motions to the back of her head.

_ Trini can't help but blush at this.  _

_ It’s such a little thing. A simple compliment. But it matters… God, how it matters. _

“Thanks,” Trini mumbles trying to mask the growing redness spreading across her cheeks. “Kim did it.”

Zack bursts out in laughter at this sudden confession.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Zach tries to suppress his laughter but can’t. “Just that the girl’s got it so bad for you.”

“Kim?”

“Who else?”

Trini shakes her head in disbelief. “Yeah right.”

“Fine. Don’t believe me.” 

Trini goes to fire off a sarcastic response but stops short when she catches the look on Zack’s face. It’s a look that she rarely sees from him. A look of pure, undiluted honesty… and it’s nothing short of unnerving.

Trini redirects her attention back on the A/C unit, letting Zack’s comment sit with her for a moment or two.

_ There’s no way Kimberly could like her. Or at least like her in that way.  _

_ Kimberly’s straight...or is she?  _

_ Trini has never has had the best of gaydar, but still, she would certainly know if-- _

CLANG. The A/C crackles and then springs back to life. It doesn’t sound pretty, but it’s running.

“That’s my tiny butch!” Zack pulls Trini in for a bone crushing hug as his mom enthusiastically claps with relief.  

“Call me that again, and I’ll fuckin’ cut your balls off,” Trini mutters back, trying her best to act annoyed but secretly she loves it.   

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

_ Zack’s words have been on a never-ending replay in Trini’s head for the last 18 or so hours.  _

_ There’s a possibility. A small… No scratch that. A minute possibility that Kimberly Hart has feelings for her. And not the “I love you like a sister” sorta feelings.  _

_ The type of feelings that tend to transcend trivial words and standard definitions.  _

_ The type that makes a person forget all conventional logic and do rash, insane things.  _

_ The type of feelings that up until recently, Trini thought could never ever be reciprocated. At least not by Kimberly. _

A note suddenly lands on Trini’s desk, snapping her out of her thoughts. She glances over at Kimberly, already knowing that it came from her, and catches sight of her smiling. 

Kimberly gives a bit of a head nod towards the note, motioning for Trini to go on already and open it.

Trini ever so discreetly, unfolds the paper, trying not to draw too much attention to herself. The last thing she needs is their Bio teacher intercepting yet another one of their exchanges. 

**“Deep thoughts?”**

_ If only she knew just how deep of thoughts they are… _

Trini takes a moment, trying to think of how she wants to respond and then writes--

**“Just hungry. Wanna hit up Krispy Kreme with me after eighth?”**

Trini folds back up the piece of paper, shoot it over to Kimberly, and redirects her attention back on their Bio teacher. It’s taking every ounce of self-control she has within her to act like she’s not all that interested in Kimberly’s response...

A second later, the note lands again and Trini opens it back up--

**“It’s a date!”**

Trini does a slight double-take upon seeing these words. 

_ Of course, Kimberly doesn’t mean a “date” date. That’s just some sorta common straight girl terminology. Call something a date just for shits and giggles.  _

_ It’s like when straight girls sit on each other laps and are overly affectionate with one another, almost to the point where it could be misconstrued as PDA. _

_ It couldn’t be an actual date…  _

Trini glances back over at Kimberly, searching for some sort of clarity, but is only met with even more confusion.  

Kimberly stares back at Trini with an infectious smirk painting across her lips. It’s almost as if she knows something that Trini doesn’t.

_ …Or could it? _

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Trini sits curled up in the far corner of a booth, compulsively swiping through her Instagram feed, while her knees bounce at a jackhammer like pace. Her ability to “act cool” disappeared roughly five minutes ago when Kimberly offered to go get their “usual” and refused to let Trini pay for it, saying it was “her treat”. 

“Two strawberry iced donuts with sprinkles and a large milk and sugar with a splash of coffee.” Kimberly places the donuts and coffee in front of Trini before sliding into the other side of the booth with her own coffee and donut combo.

“Hilarious, Hart,” Trini mumbles under her breath and then takes a massive bite of one of the donuts.

“Oh, I’m hysterical.”

“That’s debatable.” 

Trini, not so gracefully, crams the rest of donut into her mouth, causing an impromptu shower of rainbow sprinkles. 

A warm smile crawls across Kimberly’s face, and she every so slightly chuckles. 

“What?” 

But Kimberly doesn’t respond. She merely reaches across the table and with the lightest of touches, brushes a few stray sprinkles off of Trini’s cheeks. 

_ And just like that, Trini’s mind instantly short circuits.  _

_ It is just a little gesture. Something that Kimberly has done numerous times before, but for some reason, this time feels different.  _

_ This time it feels like it could mean something more… _

“How’s the hand?”

“Huh?” Trini suddenly realizes that Kimberly’s talking to her and snaps back to reality.

“Your hand. How’s it healing?”

Trini slowly opens and closes her fingers on her left hand, only wincing slightly with each change in movement. Even with her accelerated healing, it’s still going to be at least a few more weeks until it’s back to full strength.

“Gettin’ there.”

“Good. Cause I’d hate to see, any permanent damage happens to those fingers of yours.” Kimberly smirks with a subtle raise of her eyebrows while reaching across the table and ghosting her fingers across the top of Trini’s.

Trini chokes on her sip of coffee, just barely avoiding it from shooting through her nose.

_ Did Kimberly just say that? That isn’t something one says to their strictly platonic friend. That’s something one says when-- _

“Jase!” 

Trini looks up just in time to spot Jason heading over towards them. 

“Hey. What are you guys doing here?” Jason slides into the booth next to Kimberly and greets her with an overly friendly hug. 

“Solvin’ world peace,” Trini muttered while digging into her second donut. 

“We’re just hanging out. Where’s Billy? I thought you two were going to the quarry?”  

“Still are. Swung by to grab some snacks first. You know how Billy gets if he doesn’t have his two glazed donuts and--”

“A soy hot chocolate.” Kimberly finishes Jason’s thought with a knowing smile. “That boy sure does love his hot chocolate.”

“A little too much. Not gonna lie though. It’s kinda adorable.”

Jason and Kimberly exchange a small laugh and in the process doing so, reach out to touch each other. Jason, with his hand on Kimberly’s back and Kimberly’s hand on Jason’s thigh. 

It’s nothing more than a typical, subconscious reaction that happens all of the time between the five of them and yet, at that moment, Trini feels as if witnessing something private. Something that’s not meant for her eyes. 

_ Trini knows, deep down inside that Jason doesn’t harbor those type of feelings for Kimberly. Not that he’s ever flat out told her this. He doesn’t have to. It’s just something that she knows to be true.    _

_ But, sitting there, watching the two of them casually interact with each other, Trini can’t help but think that it’s only a matter of time before their “brother/sister” style of friendship morphs into something more. Something deeper. _

_ It makes sense. Jason and Kimberly are -- or at least up until recently -- Angel Groove’s version of teenage royalty. The star quarterback and the head cheerleader.  _

_ Sure, it’s a stereotype… but stereotypes exist for a reason, right?  _

_ And this is what every straight girl wants. Or at least the specific breed of straight girl that Kimberly Hart happens to be.  _

_ They want the charismatic, blue-eyed, dimple clad athlete who’s kind and considerate and puts all of the other boys to shame when it comes to grand, romantic gestures. The one that every parent dreams their daughter will bring home one day.  _

_ Suddenly, Trini realizes that she needs to leave. And right now. _

“I’ve gotta go.” Trini quickly scoops up her backpack and slides out of the booth, not even bothering to give Jason nor Kimberly a chance to react. 

“Trini, wait!” Kimberly calls out after her with a somewhat strange level of bewilderment to her voice. 

But Trini doesn’t stop. She can’t. Trini heads straight towards the door with an unwavering determination to get out the hell out of there as fast as humanly possible.

_ This is all just too much for her… _

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Trini slips into the kitchen through the back door and does a quick glance around. Not a soul in sight. Perfect.

Trini exhales in relief and then starts to move across the room, when suddenly--

“Mija?”

Fuck.

Trini stops dead in her tracks as her mom appears in the doorway.

“Where were you?”

“Out,” Trini responds in barely more than a whisper. Eyes glued to her beat up converse.

“Out where? And with who? You were supposed to be home over an hour ago.”

“Just out. Okay?” Trini goes to moves past her mom, but she’s immediately blocked. This isn’t going to be a quick conversation.

“No, not “okay”. You can’t just go running around, doing god knows what. There are rules, Trinity. Now, where were you?”

_ Trini tense ever so slightly at the sound of her full name. Her mom is the only one who ever uses it and god how it gets under Trini’s skin each and every time that she does.  _

“I was out with friends,” Trini answers through gritted teeth.

“Friends?”

“Yeah.”

“Who are these friends? Do I know them?”

_ Trini takes a deep breath for a moment, internally weighing whether or not she should drop the name. A name that is going to elicit a response from her mom that Trini herself can never seem to achieve. No matter how much she tries. _

“Kimberly Hart.”

Bingo. 

Trini’s mom instantly lights up with a level of sheer excitement that Trini hasn’t seen in well over a decade. 

“Kimberly Hart? Oh! She’s that lovely girl who volunteered at that hospital fundraiser last month, right? The cheerleader? I didn’t know you two were friends.”

Trini shrugs. She knows from years of experience that it’s better not to say anything at all and just let her mom’s imagination run wild with thoughts of the type of daughter Trini could possibly be.

“Were you at the mall? Do kids even still hang out at the mall anymore? Do you need money for clothes? I bet Kimberly would be more than happy to help you pick out a few things. Maybe something a little less baggy? That girl has a wonderful sense of style. You could learn a thing or two from her, Mija.” 

Trini self-consciously tugs on the ends of her flannel shirt while shifting from foot to foot. 

_ Trini’s appearance has always been a sore subject, to say the least, between the two of them.  _

_ Her mom has tried everything, including once throwing out all of Trini’s wardrobe, to get Trini to dress “more appropriately”.  _

_ And by “more appropriately”, she means more like how a girl is supposed to dress. Cute tops. Skirts. Heels. Dresses…  _

“No, Mamí. I don’t need money.” 

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t Kimberly dating that boy? The one who’s a quarterback? I think that’s what Mrs. Rogers said. She mentioned it when I was picking up Diego and Daniel last week. Maybe she can introduce you to some of his friends?” Trini’s mom gleefully rambles on, getting more and more caught up with each and every passing second.

_ Trini skin crawls. Once again, she knows she needs to leave. And now. Before her mom’s words can cut any deeper... _

“I’m going back out.” Trini straightens herself up a bit, finally meeting her mom’s eyes. There’s a look of hopefulness there that Trini simply can’t handle.

“With Kimberly?”

Trini doesn’t respond. But she doesn’t have to… 

Her mom takes the silence as a yes. “Just make sure to be back by 10, Mija.”

“Sure.” 

With that, Trini turns back around and takes off again out of the house. 

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Trini sits alone on top of a large boulder, knees tucked firmly into her chest, just looking out onto the quarry down below as two defined trails of tears roll down her cheeks. 

_ This is her spot. A spot that no one -- Not even Zack -- knows about. It’s the spot that’s reserved for those moments when life becomes just a little too much to bear. _

_ A spot where no one can see her break down and cry. _

BUZZ. Trini’s phone suddenly lights up beside her, signifying yet another text. She ignores it, not even attempting to glance down at the screen.

BUZZ… BUZZ… BUZZ… BUZZ...

“Fuck.” Trini lets out a frustrated sigh, snatches up her phone, and swipes the screen.

**PainInMyAss: TRINI!!!!! YOOOOO!!! Where R U????**

**PainInMyAss: U OK??? Your girl’s freakin’ out. Text her ASAP.**

**PainInMyAss: Trini… Trini… Earth to Trini!**

**PainInMyAss: C’mon. I know u’r there…**

**PainInMyAss: Get u’r head out of u’r ass.**

Knowing that she has no patience to deal with Zack at the moment, Trini ignores his texts and taps into the other set of notifications.

**PinkPrincess: Hey T. Where’d you go? Everything ok?**

**PinkPrincess: Just tried calling you but got your VM.**

**PinkPrincess: Did I do something? Is it me?**

**PinkPrincess: Please let me know you’re ok.**

Trini takes a moment and then types out-- 

**I’m not ok.**

But she can’t bring herself to hit the send button. Trini quickly deletes the message and places her phone back down again.

BUZZ.

Trini looks at the screen once again.

**_PinkPrincess: I saw the dots. I know you’re there. Please, Trini. Just talk to me._ **

_ Trini would give anything just to be able to talk to Kimberly. To curl up in her arms and recount all of the numerous reasons why the last few days have royally sucked. To have Kimberly lovingly stroke her head and reassure her that it will be all be ok in the long run.  _

_ But Trini knows that it’s just not a good idea. That talking to Kimberly will be the first step down the all too familiar road to unrequited heartache.   _

With a sudden and definitive resolution, Trini shuts off her phone and then shoves it into her pocket. No more messages… at least not tonight.

Trini runs her hands through her hair and glances out onto the moonlit quarry below. There’s a stillness to it all that’s more than calming. She re-tucks her knees back under her chin and just stares for another moment or two. Then--

An almost blinding GREEN LIGHT implodes at the base of the quarry… right near the entrance pool. It’s brief. A blink of the eye and it would have been missed. 

Trini immediately jumps to her feet in a sudden state of panic, trying to get a better look. But there’s nothing there. Just the moonlit quarry.

“What the fuck was that?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little extra angsty this go around, but it's needed for what comes next. 
> 
> As always, comments and feedback are more than appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What if I can’t?” Trini quietly replies in a voice barely above a whisper. She compulsively fidgets with a few stray strands on the rip knee of her jeans while avoiding eye contact with Zack. “What if she doesn’t feel--”
> 
> \----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Trini drags her heels a bit more while trying to work up the nerve to finally just talk to Kimberly.

Chapter 3

“Hey Billy. You’ve got a minute?” Trini drops her backpack next to Billy on the library table and takes a seat.

Billy glances down at his watch and then back up at Trini with a smile. “I’ve got 36 minutes. Well, technically 41 if I choose not to go to my locker before Calculus. I don’t have my textbook with me, but Ms. Rivers only references it on days when she hasn’t gotten enough sleep. Which are usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Today’s a Wednesday, so I should be--”

“Billy.”

“Right. Sorry. Yes, I have a minute.” Billy goes about adjusting and readjusting his colored pencils in order of height while actively avoiding eye contact with Trini. 

_ Most people would take this act as being anti-social, but Trini knows better. This is just how Billy operates. _

_ Regular, everyday social interactions, like a friendly pat on the shoulder or maintain eye contact while talking to someone, are painfully difficult for Billy to comprehend, let alone act upon.  _

_ And on some, deep-seeded level, Trini can relate. Not because she’s on the spectrum herself, but because she knows firsthand how hard it can be to continually try and “fit in”.   _

“I saw something. Last night at the quarry. A strange flash of green light. Right near the entrance of the ship.” 

Billy abruptly stops adjusting his pencils and glances up at Trini with slight confusion. “What type of light?”

“Huh?”

“You said flash of light. But what type was it? Was it like a firework? Or more like a laser beam? Or a neon--”

“A green mist cloud, maybe? Kinda like something you’d see at a concert,” Trini responds, cutting Billy off.

Billy nods and takes a moment, seemingly lost in thought. “That’s really pedicular.”

“Right. Check. Freakin’ strange. So, what could it be?” 

“It could be a multitude of things. I can’t say for certain, though, until I investigate.” Billy takes another pause as his brain navigates through his train of thought. “I can go early before training today. I’m supposed to meet up with Jason at Krispy Kreme at 3pm but can tell him to meet me at the quarry instead. Oh, wait… That means we won’t be able to get our usual--”

“I’ll pick up yours and Jason’s usuals and bring them with me.”

A genuine smile spreads across Billy’s face. “That will work, then. Thanks Trini.”

“No prob, man.”

Trini goes to get up from the table, but as she does, she notices Billy staring at her with a somewhat conflicted look on his face. There’s something more… Something he wants to ask but can’t seem to bring himself to willing do so.

“Billy, do you want to ask me somethin’?”

Billy manages to nod his head but still doesn’t say a word. He picks up the pace on his compulsive pencil adjusting, as his internal debate wages on.

“It’s all good. You can ask me whatever.” Trini offers up with a warm smile. She sits back down and waits for Billy to respond. 

_ Trini usually isn’t one for patience, but with Billy, she’s more than happy to wait all day if needed. She has a permanent soft spot in her heart for him. _

Finally--

“Are you and Kimberly in a fight?”

“No. Why would you--”

“Because I was over at Jason’s house last night for our weekly 80’s horror movie night and Kimberly showed up unannounced. She wouldn’t say what was wrong, but then she and Jason went into the kitchen to talk. I wasn’t trying to listen in on their conversation, but I really needed to get more popcorn. Jason makes this really amazing popcorn with truffle oil. I always try not to eat the entire bowl, but I can’t help it and--”

“Billy.” 

“Right. Sorry. Kimberly. She was in the kitchen crying, and I heard her mention your name a few times. Jason tried to comfort her, but she did seem to calm down. Not even when he hugged her.” 

“I’m an idiot,” Trini mutters to herself. She runs her hands through her hair and lets out a heavy sigh.

 

_ Trini knows precisely why Kimberly was crying last night in Jason Scott’s kitchen.  _

_ Because, once again, she has let her two most hated friends -- Self-doubt and Fear -- dictate her actions.  _

“No your not. We have Calculus together, and you’re brilliant. Mr. Brick even said so last Thursday when he handed back our tests.” 

Trini can’t help but chuckle at Billy’s beyond honest reply. “Thanks, Billy.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Catch ya, later.” Trini once again gets up from the table, slings her backpack over her shoulder, and with a newfound resolution, takes off out of the library. 

_ Trini knows what she needs to do… She needs to talk to talk to Kimberly. _

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Trini moves against the flow of students with a fierce determination like none other. 

Most days, she tends to take her time, enjoying every last second of freedom before enduring yet another 45-minute snooze fest. But today is different. Today she needs to get to Bio and fast. 

_ “Get to Bio. Grab a seat near Kimberly. Apologize for being such an idiot.” Trini’s internal voice runs through her gameplan… and again… and again. _

_ Sure, it wouldn’t be enough time to honestly talk things out -- there’s never seems to be enough time when it comes Kimberly -- But at least this would be a step in the right direction.  _

Trini picks up her pace, playing human frogger between the pockets of students. 

_ She knows she’s pushing the fine line between moving at a human verse superhuman like pace, but doesn’t care. The quicker she runs, the more time she has to make things right with Kimberly. _

Trini rounds the corner to a connecting hallway and suddenly comes to a crashing halt. 

There, only fifteen feet away, stands Kimberly, back up against the lockers with some ponytail clad, Neanderthal looking, man-child leaning next to her, encroaching in on her personal space. The two are deeply engaged in a conversation, completely oblivious to the world around them. 

And then, like a second punch to the gut, Trini realizes that she knows exactly who the man-child is. It’s Tommy Oliver. The one who practically took Jason’s shoulder off in the hallway a few days earlier. The rude ass jerk, who didn’t even bother to stop, let alone apologize.

An overwhelming sense of disappointment washes over Trini as she stands there frozen in her tracks, just watching Tommy and Kimberly talk.

_ Change of plans. _

_ Who’s she kidding? There’s no need to “talk” to Kimberly. Clearly, Kimberly is 100% fine.  _

_ Sure, Kimberly might have been a little bit upset last night, but now she’s chatting away with Tommy like she doesn’t have one single freakin’ care in the entire world.  _

Not wanting to stay there another moment longer, Trini backtracks her way down the other hallway and straight through the double doors leading to the courtyard.

_ Fuck Bio. _

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Hey Crazy Girl. Room for one more?” Zack calls up to Trini from the bottom of the bleachers. 

Trini straightens up a bit, slides her headphones off of her ears and gives a half-hearted shrug. “Free country.”

_ Busted.  _

_ Trini knows that camping out at the top of the bleachers isn’t the most stealthy of places to hide out, but at least it’s better than being confined to a classroom. _

Zack bounds up the bleacher steps, taking them two at once, reaching Trini in record time. He plops himself down next to her and stretches out his lengthy limbs in every direction.

“No Bio?”

“Nope.” 

They sit side by side in silence for a few moments, just taking in the football field and track below them. Neither one making any sort of effort to talk at all. 

Then, out of nowhere, Zack swiftly reaches across and snatches up Trini's cell phone from the nearby bench. 

“Hey!” Trini lunges after her phone, but it’s of little use. Zack’s already two steps ahead of her. 

Zack holds Trini at bay with one of his arms, while using his other to unlock the phone. 

“Ha! Knew it. Not broken. Jason so owes me $20.” 

“Give it back, fucker,” Trini growls with a burst of sudden anger. She grabs hold of his arm and in one fell swoop twists it behind his back, bending it at a painfully awkward angle. 

“Owe. Jesus. No need to get your tiny ass, boxer briefs in bunch. Here.” Zack hands the phone back over to Trini.

Trini instantly releases her death grip on Zack and then shoves her phone into her pocket. “Ass.”

“What? Me? Never.” Zack mocks a stunned expression mixed with his cheesy yet loveable smile.

The comfortable silence creeps back in between the two of them again, and for a moment, they both embrace it. Just co-existing with each other in the same space.

“You oughta talk to her. Before you seriously fuck it up.” 

“What if I can’t?” Trini quietly replies in a voice barely above a whisper. She compulsively fidgets with a few stray strands on the ripped knee of her jeans while avoiding eye contact with Zack. “What if she doesn’t feel--”

“Stop over thinkin’ it. I told ya already. That girl’s head of heels for you.”

“But--”

“No butts. Talk to her. Or I’m gonna do it for ya.”

“You wouldn’t…” Trini searches Zack’s face, trying to call his bluff, but deep down she knows that he’s telling the truth. “I’ll rip your fuckin’ arms off and use them to beat your ass to death.”

Zack just laughs in response. He reaches over and playfully ruffles Trini’s hair in an annoying big brother sorta way. “Talk to your girl.”

With that, Zack gets up from the bleachers, shoves his hands into his pockets, and starts to make his way back on down the steps.

“She’s not my girl,” Trini yells back at him with a noticeable level of uncertainty to her voice. Almost, as if, the comment is more to remind herself than anything else.

“Not yet,” Zack replies with an all-knowing smirk.

_ God, Trini loves and hates that boy. _

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Trini has been wandering around Angel Grove, somewhat aimlessly, ever since Zack left her on the bleachers a few hours ago. She knows that she should’ve just gone back inside and finished out the rest of the day after the end of Bio, but something deep down inside prevented her from doing so.

The neighborhood park next to the school. The movie theater on Main street. The woods by the quarry. And even the local Krispy Kreme not once, but twice. 

From the dull but steady throbbing in her feet, Trini is sure that she’s managed to walk at least a good ten or so mile by now. More than she’s ever willingly walked before and yet, it still doesn’t feel like enough. 

Trini comes to an intersection and takes a momentary pause, trying to figure out which direction to go in next. She fishes her phone out of her pocket and checks the time. 

_ 4:45pm.  _

_ Roughly a little over an hour until Trini has to be home for dinner. She could push it to later if she gives her mom a heads up… but that would mean engaging with her mom… Which would only open the question floodgates… Which would lead to multiple Kimberly related ones… _

_ Kimberly. _

_ “What am I doing?” Trini mutters under her breath to herself. Without another moment’s hesitation, she unlocks her phone and starts rapid-fire texting. _

**SaberToothTrini:** Hey. You home?

 

Trini hits send and holds her breath. Within a matter of milliseconds, seconds the texting dots appear.

**PinkPrincess:** Yeah. Y?

**SaberToothTrini:** Can I come over?  

Trini holds her breath again and this time closes her eyes as well for good measure. She has no reason to believe that Kimberly won’t respond, and yet, there’s still a lingering doubt that she just can’t shake. 

BUZZ.

Trini’s eyes snap back open and look at the screen.

**PinkPrincess:** I’d really like that.

A small smile crawls across Trini’s lips as she re-reads the text. 

_ It’s just four words…  _

_ But, regardless, it’s reassurance.  _

**SaberToothTrini:** Be there in five.

Trini puts her phone back into her pocket and starts to take off down the sidewalk, at a breakneck speed. She keeps this up for a few seconds, but then suddenly slows down, once again coming to a halt. 

_ Something isn’t right. _

_ Trini cautiously does a quick 360, scanning her surroundings. Not a single soul in sight.  _

_ But that doesn’t matter…  _

_ Someone is watching her. Someone that doesn’t want to be seen.  _

And this singular realization sends a slight chill down Trini’s spine. She shoves her hands into the pockets of her bomber jacket wraps it tighter around her body, in a half-ditch attempt to create a shield between herself and whoever is out there and then continues on at an even faster pace. 

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Hey.” Trini finishes hoisting herself through Kimberly’s bedroom window, landing on the coral carpeting with a not so graceful thud. 

Kimberly puts down her textbook and sits up a bit on her bed. She greets Trini with a hesitant smile, but it doesn’t seem to fully reach her eyes. There’s an underlying sadness there that’s downright heartbreaking at best.

_ Shit.  _

_ That look hits Trini like a ton of bricks. She’s really fucked it up this time. And not in just a “I’m in a shitty mood and am being a major prick for no good reason” sorta way.  _

“You could’ve used the front door. My parents won’t be home for another three hours.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Trini shrugs with a bit of a forced smirk. 

_ Trini’s heart screams out to move closer to Kimberly, but her feet are glued to the floor. She’s absolutely paralyzed. All Trini can manage to do is breathe. _

“You weren’t in Bio today.” 

“I skipped,” Trini huffs with a nervous exhale of breath. “Just kinda needed to clear my head.”

“Oh,” Kimberly replies in a voice barely above a whisper. 

_ Trini’s head and heart engage an impromptu war with each other. _

_ It’s killing her not to just go and wrap her arms around Kimberly. Just to hold her close and… _

_ And what? Go deeper into that ever so familiar “are we friends or are we more” territory?  _

Trini’s been there before. Hell, she even has the t-shirt. Crushes on straight girls never work. It’s an undeniable fact. 

“Look, I’m sorry. I--”

“Did I do something?” Kimberly blurts out, cutting Trini off. 

“Huh?”

“Did I do something? You know... to upset you? I mean, I don’t think I did. At least, not anything that I’m aware of. But you suddenly won’t return my texts or calls, and then you didn’t show up to bio and… I dunno. It feels like I’ve done something wrong.” Kimberly picks at the edge of her pink and white comforter, trying desperately to keep her emotions in check. 

_ Trini’s heart starts to crumble. She can feel it physically breaking open more and more with each and every beat. It’s beyond excruciating. Who would’ve known that this -- just standing here watching Kimberly second guess herself -- would be more painful than practically being burned alive in the cockpit of her Zord. _

“You didn’t do anything.”

“Then why won’t you talk to me?” Kimberly’s voice quivers on these words. 

_ Fuck it. _

And just like that, Trini suddenly finds herself moving across the room. She takes a seat down on the edge of the bed, and before she has time to fully process what she’s doing, she leans in and kisses Kimberly.

Every last ounce of insecurity and doubt instantly melts away as Trini feels Kimberly relax into her lips and kiss her back.

_ It’s raw. And yet gentle. Laced with passionate. It’s so much more than just a kiss… no, it’s a prelude to what’s to come. _

_ And god, Trini doesn’t want it to ever stop.  _

After what feels like an eternity, Kimberly pulls back out of the kiss, allowing the two of them to catch their breath. A slow, seductive smile crawls across her cherry lips as she locks eyes with Trini. 

“Took you long enough.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies in advance for the typos and as always, comments / feedback are more than appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit… Holy shit… Holy shit…
> 
> Trini’s sure she’s died and gone to heaven. There’s no other way to explain it. She’s up and died, smack dab in the middle of the girls bathroom, and now experiencing what can only be described as the afterlife… the one where she gets to re-enact all of her wildest Kimberly Hart fantasies for all of eternity.
> 
> Yup. That’s exactly what is happening. 
> 
> Because there’s no way that Kimberly Hart is actually kissing her... here in this bathroom... like this.  
> \---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> The aftermath of the kiss along with some further developments as to the strange green light that Trini witnessed.

Chapter 4

“The Avengers.”

“No way!” Zack snags a few french fries off of Trini’s tray and shovels them into his mouth.

Trini shrugs and continues to pick at her pathetic excuse for a hamburger. “You asked.”

“Seriously? The Avengers? C’mon. They don’t even have Zords.”

“Doesn’t matter. They’d still kick our asses.” Trini gives up on her hamburger and slides her tray towards Zack. “You want it?”

Zack doesn’t even need to respond. He digs right into the hamburger as if he hasn’t eaten in over a month. 

“How can you even eat that shit?” 

“What? It’s food,” Zack replies with a mouth full of burger. “You’re the one that bought it.”

Trini lets a chuckle slip and watches as Zack plows through the rest of the hamburger and fries.

_ Trini could easily bring her lunch. Hell, she practically has to talk her mom out of packing her one at least three times a week.  _

_ But Trini also knows that Zack won’t accept it if he thinks it something that she’ll actually eat. _

_ So on days when Zack shows up at school, Trini makes it a point to buy something from the cafeteria that she isn’t a big fan of. Hamburgers. Hot dogs. Even the occasional sloppy joe or two. She takes a few bites, all for show, and then eventually pawns it off on Zack who’s always more than will devour it. _

_ Trini feels a bit guilty about having to go to such elaborate lengths, but then again it’s Zack. She’d gladly give up the clothes on her back for him if he needed it. _

“Billy! You’re the expert. Who’d win in a knockdown, drag out, all of the human race is on the line, style battle? Us or the Avengers?” Zack scoots over, allowing Billy to take a seat next to him at the lunch table. 

“The Avengers are fictitious.” Billy pulls his lunchbox from his backpack and carefully starts to unload its contents, lining them up in a precise order.

“Yeah. But if they were real. Who’d win?”

Billy stops for a moment, contemplating the hypothetical scenario, and then--

“The Avengers.”

“What??” Zack shoots his head back in a laugh of sheer disbelief. “C’mon. You guys don’t know what you’re talking about. We’d so win.”

“Statistically speaking, given their combined superpowers and amount of combat experience, we wouldn’t stand a chance against them.” 

“Told ya,” Trini mutters with a smirk. 

Billy finishes arranging his lunch and then suddenly looks up at Trini as if a thought has just popped into his head. “Trini, you remember that thing you asked me to investigate?”

“Yeah.”

“You were right. Alpha 5 detected a disturbance by the ship’s entrance around the same exact time you saw that flash of green light.”

This strikes Zack’s curiosity. “Green light?”

“What green light?” Jason approaches the table with Kimberly only a few steps behind him.

Trini catches sight of Kimberly and her mind instantly short circuits. 

_ Yellow beanie.  _

_ Trini’s signature yellow beanie -- the one that she was sure up until a second ago that she lost -- is there, sitting on top of Kimberly’s head.  _

_ And god, does it look absolutely, freaking amazing. _

_ Usually, Trini would throw a full-blown tantrum if someone other than herself attempts to wear her beloved beanie. Hell, she almost “accidentally” broke Zack’s nose a few weeks ago when he jokingly tried to snatch it from her head. _

_ But, for some odd reason… No. Scratch that. It’s not strange at all. Trini knows precisely why she suddenly doesn’t care.  _

_ Kimberly Hart could wear her beanie for the rest of eternity and Trini wouldn’t care.  _

“Trini?” Jason gives Trini a friendly nudge of the shoulder, in a subtle attempt to cue her into the conversation.

Trini snaps out of her thoughts and suddenly notices that all eyes are on her. She shrinks into herself a bit as her cheeks turn a striking shade of red. “Sorry. Was distracted.”

“Wonder why?” Zack shoots Trini an all-knowing smile with a slight nod towards Kimberly. 

_ Fuck. _

_ Trini isn’t the only one who’s noticed the beanie. She knows that she’s going to have to deal with Zack. But not here and definitely not now. _

“You saw a green light? When?” Kimberly asks, gently drawing Trini back again.

“The other night at the quarry. It wasn’t anything crazy. Just saw some strange green flash. That’s all. I asked Billy to look into it,” Trini mumbles back. She starts to fidget with one of the strings of her yellow hoodie as her skin crawls from the unwanted attention.  

“Sounds like something. Especially if Alpha 5 confirmed it. Let’s plan on checking in with Zordon before training just to be on the safe side,” Jason responds in-between bites of his sandwich. “The last thing I want is us to be blindsided by another attack.”

Trini fingers instinctively trace over the faint, white lines on her neck at these words. A permanent reminder of what can happen when they are taken off guard. 

_ She might not be able to control what’s to come, but at least she can be better prepared to fight back this go around. _

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Trini stares up at the clock, beyond desperate for it to move faster. 

_ 30 more minutes. _

_ 30 more minutes until she’s free from her daily torture session… otherwise known as AP European History.  _

_ 30 more minutes and then she gets to see Kimberly, albeit only briefly, but still it’s better than nothing.  _

Trini glances back up at the clock again and to her dismay, the second hand appears to have completely stopped moving altogether.

“You’re fuckin’ kidding me,” Trini mutters under her breath. She slumps her head into her hands and lets out a semi-frustrated sigh.

BUZZ.

Trini perks up, reaches into her pocket and ever so discreetly, pulls out her phone.

**PinkPrincess:** Whatcha up to?

**SaberToothTrini:** Death by AP boredom. Y?

**PinkPrincess:** Come meet me.

**SaberToothTrini:** Where?

**PinkPrincess:** Girls bathroom by our lockers.

Trini sinks her teeth into her bottom lip as she re-reads the last text.

_ It’s only been 48 hours since that moment in Kimberly’s room. The singular moment where everything that Trini had known to be true had been blown to bits. _

_ 48 hours and they still haven’t really talked about it… Not like they have had an actual chance to anyways.   _

_ Only a mere second after they had kissed, were they interrupted by a barrage of texts from Jason and then Billy and followed by Zack, reminding them that they were already late for training. _

_ And that had been it.  No discussion -- or even actual acknowledgment -- of that moment ever since. _

_ Regardless of that, though, Trini knows, deep down inside that everything between her and Kimberly has seemingly changed due to that one kiss.  _

_ But the real question is… has it changed for the better?  _

_ Only one way to find out. _

Trini types a quick response and hits send.

**SaberToothTrini:** Be there in three.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Kim?” Trini calls out as she pushes open the bathroom. She cautiously takes a step inside and--

BAM.

Trini suddenly finds herself pinned up against the cold tile wall with Kimberly’s lips savagely attacking her own.

_ Holy shit… Holy shit… Holy shit… _

_ Trini’s sure she’s died and gone to heaven. There’s no other way to explain it. She’s up and died, smack dab in the middle of the girls' bathroom, and now experiencing what can only be described as the afterlife… the one where she gets to re-enact all of her wildest -- including the non-PG rated ones -- Kimberly Hart fantasies for all of eternity. _

_ Yup. That’s precisely what is happening.  _

_ Because there’s no way that Kimberly Hart is actually kissing her... here in this bathroom... like this.  _

Kimberly’s tongue playfully swipes against Trini’s bottom lip, and Trini can’t help but grant it access. 

Trini lets a moan escape into Kimberly’s mouth as their tongues brazenly explore this new frontier. She snakes her fingers into Kimberly’s short, wavy locks in an effort to pull her closer.  

Kissing Kimberly is nothing short of intoxicating and Trini can’t seem to get enough of it.

After a few more moments-- 

_ Or could be minutes... Trini has seemingly lost the ability to sense time. _

\-- Kimberly pulls back out of the kiss with a light nip of Trini’s bottom lip and flashes a coy smile.

“Hey.”

“Hi,” Trini manages to squeak out, still trying to catch her breath. 

“God, I’ve been waiting to do that all day.” Kimberly gingerly reaches out and tucks a loose strand of hair behind Trini’s ear. 

“Hideout in the bathroom like a gigantic creep and surprise attack me?”

“Yes. Totally.” 

“Thought so.” Trini straightens herself up a bit as her trademark smirk cross her lips. She's desperate to give some sort of air of confidence even if it's at best an illusion. “So you gonna tell me why you summoned me here or--”

“Do you trust me?” Kimberly interjects with a slight hint of nervousness to her voice.

_ Kimberly Hart nervous? No… That can’t be right.  _

_ Kimberly is many things. Calm. Cool. Collected. But nervous?  _

_ This is new, and Trini can’t help but find it more than slightly intriguing. _

“Depends. What do you have in mind?”

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“One more left. You want it?” Kimberly offers up a practically empty package of Oreos to Trini.

“All yours, Princess,” Trini replies, rolling over onto her back the picnic blanket. She stretches a bit, lazily placing her hands behind her head and lets out a post junk food binge groan.

Kimberly pops the last Oreo into her mouth and then lays down next to Trini. “I can’t move.”

“That makes two of us.”

Trini and Kimberly lay side by side in a comfortable silence, surrounded by a small sea of candy wrappers and chip bags. 

_ When Kimberly had told Trini that she had a surprise planned for them, this was the last thing she had in mind. But then again, Trini really hadn’t had any idea at all… _

_ Just the sheer notion that Kimberly had planned something, let alone it being an impromptu picnic in the park, was completely and utterly incomprehensible to Trini. _

_ And now, even two hours later, Trini still finds that she can’t fully wrap her head around it.   _

_ It’s safe to say that Kimberly isn’t straight. That’s for sure. But what is she… and more importantly, what is this?  _

_ An experiment? Another impulsive act of rebellion?  _

_ Sure, Trini isn’t a fan of labels but still, what if-- _

“I can hear you thinking.” Kimberly props herself up on one elbow and locks eyes with Trini. “Care to share?”

_ Share?  _

_ How the hell is she supposed to share? Trini can’t even seem to form a singular, coherent thought internally, let alone be able to express it out loud to Kimberly. _

_ What if she says the wrong thing?  _

_ What if she has a case of word vomit and then can’t take it back? _

_ What if-- _

“Trini,” Kimberly gently whispers. Her fingertips graze Trini’s forearm, drawing soothing circles into her skin. “You know you can tell me anything, right? Anything at all.”

“I know.”

“Okay. Then what’s--”

“What are we doing?” Trini blurts out before Kimberly can even finish her sentence. She shuts her eyes as a wave of instant regret washes over her. 

“We’re currently laying in the park when we should be in eighth period.”

“No, I mean…” 

“I know what you mean.” 

Another silence creeps in between the two of them, but this time it’s anything but comfortable. 

_ As each moment passes, Trini can feel her internal level of regret rise higher and higher. She should’ve never said anything at all. Just kept her big, fat mouth shut and just enjoyed herself.  _

_ It’s not exactly every day that a real live goddess, up and surprises her with a--  _

“Trini, I’m Bi.”

“Huh?” Trini shoots straight up into a sitting position in absolute and utter shock. “You’re… But you never said anything? 

“You never asked.” 

“Sorry. I don’t normally go around asking people their sexuality,” Trini mutters with an underlying level of sarcasm. She knows it’s more than a bit dicky of a response, but can’t help it. It’s her go-to coping mechanism. “ I just--”

“Assumed I was straight?” 

“Yeah.”

“Well, I’m not.” Kimberly exhales with a sigh and tucks her hair behind her ears. 

“Who knows?”

“It’s more like, who doesn’t.”

Trini searches Kimberly’s face for a further explanation. 

_ Is she joking? She has to be kidding because Trini would’ve known otherwise. There’s no way she could’ve ever missed something like this. _

“I came out to my parents roughly two years ago. And most of the school more or less knows. Or at least they suspect it. Especially after the whole Amanda thing.”

“Amanda? Wait. You didn’t…” Trini trails off, almost too scared to finish her own sentence.

Kimberly sinks her teeth into her bottom lip and gives the slightest of nods. “Yeah. Not my proudest of moments. We drunkenly hooked up once or twice while Ty and I were on a break. But it wasn’t…”

“That makes way more sense.”

“What does?”

“The photo.”

Kimberly can’t help but let a light laugh slip at this. “What do you mean? Don’t totally platonic best friends send each other nudes all the time?”

“Sure. I get like three or four a day from Zack,” Trini quips back with a smirk. 

“Ugh. Bad mental.” Kimberly shudders in slight disgust. She sits up and scoots a bit closer to Trini, allowing for their bodies to lightly touch.

“Wait. So Jason, Billy, and Zack… They know?”

“Not sure about Zack or Billy, but Jase definitely does. I think he might go insane though if I talk to him one more time about you.”

“You talk about me?”

“Try obsess.” A faint but noticeable reddish hue spreads across Kimberly’s cheeks. 

_ Obsess.  _

_ Such a small word but yet can carry such a wide arrange of meanings.  _

_ Trini can’t help but wonder if Kimberly means it in the “can’t eat, can’t sleep, or even breath” sorta way or in the “it’s my latest infatuation” sorta way. _

_ Trini starts to open her mouth, but is suddenly interrupted by-- _

BUZZ.

Both Trini and Kimberly simultaneously reach for their phones and check their screen.

“Jase?” Kimberly asked Trini, after taking a moment to read the incoming text.

“Yeah. Looks like we’re needed.”

Kimberly hops up to her feet, stretches and then offers her hand to Trini, helping her get up. “To be continued?”

“Whatever you say, Princess.” 

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Hey. What’s going on? Thought we weren’t meeting till 4?” Trini gathers up her wet locks into a sloppy bun and wrings out the excess water from her the edges of her shirt.

“Change of plans. Zordon said he needed to talk with us asap,” Jason responds as he comes to greet Trini and Kimberly at the edge of the entrance pool. “C’mon. The guys are already here.”

As Trini starts to follow Jason towards the morphing grid, she feels Kimberly’s hand delicately rub over the slightly overgrown stubble of her undercut, sending a hot chill down her spine and straight into her core. 

_ God, does Kimberly Hart have magic fingers... _

“Finally. Where have you guys…” Zack trails off at the sight of Trini and Kimberly. He spots Kimberly’s hand, and a massive grin spreads across his face. “Ahhh.”

“Don’t,” Trini grumbles back at Zack. She knows where he’s going and it isn’t any place good.

“Ah, Master Trini and Master Kimberly. You’re here.” Alpha 5 scurries into the morphing grid in an extra frazzled state. “Zordon… Zordon… They’re here.”

_ Trini will never get used to the sight of Zordon, nothing more than a giant bodyless head, popping up into a wall and talking to them.  _

_ Sure, it’s 100% less freaky now than it was a few months ago, but nonetheless… It still is anything but average. _

“Thank you, Alpha 5,” Zordon responds and then tilts his head to address the rest of them. “As you know, there was a disturbance detected right outside of the ship’s entrance a few nights ago. From our early analysis, the source appears to be both of human and alien origin.”

“Like a hybrid?” Billy questions in slight confusion.

“Not exactly, no. The data shows that the origin of the disturbance came from someone who has been overtaken by an alien presence.”

“You’re talking possession, right?”

“Yes, Jason. Exactly that. Whoever this person is, it appears that they’ve been possessed by an alien life force.”

“You mean Rita,” Trini ever so quietly speaks up. 

“Possibly, yes.” 

“I don’t get it. We defeated her. Trini bitch slapped her into space,” Kimberly asks, trying desperately to make sense of what’s being said. 

“There’s a strong likelihood that right before you kids battled Rita, she transferred a part of her essence into an everyday object to protect herself from this very scenario.”

“Oh! Like a Horcrux!”  Billy beams ear to ear with a slight level of pride. 

“I’m afraid I do not know that reference, Billy.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jason responds, shooting Billy a “I love you, but sometimes you are just too much” stare. “So, what you’re saying is Rita’s back and we she could be anyone?” 

“Fuckin’ fantastic,” Trini mumbles under her breath.

Before Trini can say or do anything else, she feels Kimberly’s hand entwine with her own and give light but reassuring squeeze.

_ And just like that, Trini knows that this go around will be different. She’s 100% sure of it.   _

_ This time around, she won’t be facing Rita alone. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies in advanced for the extra roughness of the last scene. It's a bit clunky, but wanted to get it posted for you guys. Happy Friday!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trini knows how this must look. Hell, she doesn’t even have shoes on. At least, though, she managed to remember to throw on a sports bra before taking off and sprinting the four miles to Kimberly’s house. 
> 
> Thank god for small miracles.  
> \-------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> A LOT of Trimberly fluffiness with some plot thrown in.

 

“Hey. Everything okay?” Kimberly asks in a semi-awake state. “What are you do here?”

Trini climbs in through Kimberly’s bedroom window and takes a moment to gain her bearings. She’s well beyond disheveled looking, sporting epic bedhead and nothing more than an oversized concert t-shirt and some mesh basketball shorts.  

_ Trini knows how this must look. Hell, she doesn’t even have shoes on. At least, though, she managed to remember to throw on a sports bra before taking off and sprinting the four miles to Kimberly’s house.  _

_ Thank god for small miracles. _

_ Trini wants nothing more than to flat out tell Kimberly the real reason she’s standing in her bedroom, unannounced, at roughly 2:45am. That, ever since a few days ago, when Zordon revealed that Rita -- or what’s left of her essence -- was back and ready wreak havoc, that she couldn’t sleep. That every time Trini closes her eyes, she sees that horrific face staring right back at her and feels those boney, dagger-like fingers wrap around her neck.  _

_ Trini wants to tell Kimberly, but something deep inside of her is holding it all back.   _

“Dunno. I just woke up and felt like something was off. Figured I’d come to see if you were okay.” Trini gives a slight shrug of her shoulders, trying desperately to give off the appearance that this type of middle of night visit is no big deal. 

“And you didn’t think of texting?” Kimberly raises an eyebrow. She isn’t buying it. Not for one, single, solitary second.

Trini can feel her skin start to crawl as Kimberly’s eyes hone in on her.

_ Fuck.  _

_ Once again the idiot award goes to… _

_ Trini shouldn’t have come. She should’ve just dealt with it the same way that she has been prior to Kimberly being something more to her than just “Kimberly”. Trini should’ve just gone to the quarry and camped out in her special spot for a few hours until the fear and anxiety had subsided. _

“I… Uh… I should go.” Trini turns to head back out of the window but is stopped short by Kimberly’s hand gently wrapping around her bicep.

“Please don’t,” Kimberly exhales in almost a whisper.

“Okay.”

Without another word, Kimberly guides Trini towards her bed pulls back the covers, and motions for her to get in.  

Trini crawls under the covers, and before she can even fully situate herself, she feels Kimberly's arms wrap around her waist, pulling her inwards until every aspect inch of their bodies are touching. It’s a strange sensation, to say the least -- to be practically engulfed by another -- but one that she could quickly get used to.

Trini lays there completely still for a moment as her brain finally catches up to her current state.

_ Holy shit.  _

_ Trini is in bed… under the covers… with Kimberly Hart… and if feels freaking amazing. _

Upon this thought, Trini’s heart rate instantly skyrockets and her palms grow sweaty. She swallows thickly, in an attempt to keep the next wave of thoughts at bay. 

“Relax. I’ve got you.” Kimberly mumbles into the top of Trini’s head, wrapping her arms a bit tighter in the process. 

“I am.”

“Uh-huh,” Kimberly sleepily hums in response with a slightly sarcastic tone. “Totally. 100% relaxed.”

Trini lets out a frustrated sigh and then wills her body to go limp in Kimberly’s arms. “Better?”

“Much.”

Trini swears she can almost feel Kimberly’s smile radiating from behind her and can’t help match it. 

A comforting silence settles between the two of them as they just lay with each other, merely existing within the same space. Their breathing quickly falls into a synchronized rhythm… in and out… in and out… in and out…

“Trini?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think Zordon’s right? About Rita?”

Trini’s teeth sink deeply into her bottom lip as she lets that question sit for a moment or two. 

_ Trini knows the answer. No. Scratch that. She’s, without a doubt, 150% sure of what the answer is. _

_ Rita -- or Rita incarnate -- is back.  _

_ There’s no question about it. Now, it’s just a matter of when the next attack will occur.   _

“Dunno.” 

Kimberly lets out a heavy sigh into Trini’s head and manages to snuggle up even closer. She wraps her hands into the fabric of Trini’s shirt as if to anchor herself within its security. “We’ll be okay.”

_ Will they?  _

_ Trini prays that it’s the case this go around. That they’ll pull through, in the 11th hour and save the world -- and each other -- as they did last time. _

_ But she’s just not sure. _

“Always, Princess. Always.”

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

BUZZ.

BUZZ.

BUZZ.

“Trini, your phone,” Kimberly mumbles into Trini’s head, eyes still closed and desperately trying to cling to the last moments of sleep.

Trini grumbles a non-coherent response and then rolls over, burying her face into what she thinks is a pillow. 

“Trini…”

“Five more minutes,” Trini replies, nuzzling in deeper. It’s warm and cozy, and god help the person that attempts to make her move.

“Trini…” 

“What?” Trini’s eyes pop open, and she’s hit with the sudden realization that she isn’t buried within a pillow…

_ Fuck. _

_ Trini is face fuckin’ deep in Kimberly’s cleavage. And oh god, it’s beautiful and horrifying and-- _

“See something you like?” Kimberly looks down at Trini with a suggestive smirk.

Trini scrambles backward, extracting her face as fast as humanly possible. “I… I…”

Kimberly can’t hide her amused expression as she watches Trini squirm. “Your phone?”

“Right. Shit.” Trini snatches up her phone from Kimberly’s nightstand and quickly answers it.

“Hi, Mamí… Yes… I know… I know… I’m okay… I just…” Trini shifts the phone between her ears, taking a brief respite from the steady stream of yelling coming from the other end. “No… It’s not that. No. I…”

Trini takes a momentary pause as her eyes connect with Kimberly’s. 

_ Trini needs this to go away and fast. Before her mother can jump to any more conclusions. Before Trini finds herself grounded for the rest of the foreseeable future. _

_ The magic words.  _

_ She doesn’t want to have to do it -- especially not in front of Kimberly -- but knows it’s a sure fire way to instantly bring her mother down off of the ledge. _

Trini closes her eyes, swallows, and pulls the trigger. “I'm at Kimberly’s.”

_ And presto. Just like magic, the tone on the other end of the line suddenly makes a drastic shift. _

Kimberly picks up on this and mouths to Trini “Me?” in complete and utter confusion.

_ But Trini doesn't give a response. She can’t. At least not yet anyway. _

“Yes… Sure, Mamí… I’ll tell her… You too. Bye.” Trini clicks the phone off, chucks in back onto the nightstand, and falls back on the bed, letting out a long, cumbersome sigh in the process.

“So…” Kimberly lingers on the end of the word in an attempt to nudge Trini to fill in the blanks.

“So.” 

“Your mom?” 

“Yup.” 

“Trini…” Kimberly rolls her eyes in Trini’s direction and gives a light shake of her head. “You told your mom, you were with me?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“It’s not what you think,” Trini mumbles back in response as she stares up at the ceiling. 

“And what do I think?”

“My mom thinks that you and Jason are dating.” 

“What?” Kimberly blurts out with a burst of laughter. “Me and Jase?”

“Yeah.” 

“Why would your mom--”

“Because she overheard it from one of her friends at church and I didn’t correct her.” Trini pushes herself up onto her elbows and runs her hands through her hair. She lets the silence creep back in between the two of them as she searches for the right words.

_ Are there even words to explain it?  _

_ God, how Trini wishes this wasn’t so painfully hard. That she could just freely talk about how her mother idolizes Kimberly. How that Kimberly is her vision of what a daughter show be like. Feminine. Popular. Straight… Or at least the outward illusion of being straight.  _

_ Everything that Trini is not.  _

“My mother’s cool with us hanging out cause she thinks you’ll rub off on me. That’s you’ll help me…” Trini trails off, not able to finish the rest of her thought. But she doesn’t need to… 

The sympathetic look on Kimberly’s face says it all. She more than gets it. 

“C’mon. Get up.” Kimberly grabs hold of Trini’s hand and playfully yanks her up off of the bed. 

“Huh?”

“We’re going out.” 

“Where?” Trini stumbles onto her feet, coming only mere inches away from Kimberly’s face. 

Kimberly plants a quick but tender kiss on Trini’s lips and flashes an “all-knowing” smirk. “You’ll see.”

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“The mall? How original,” Trini muttered under her breath, unable to hide her underlying level of disdain for where they were. 

_ It’s not that Trini doesn’t want to be spending her time with Kimberly. Hell, she’d move heaven and earth just to have one more second with that girl… her girl. _

_ God, that sounds good. Her girl.  _

_ But is Kimberly really her girl? Is that what this is?   _

Kimberly hums in response as she leads the way, zig-zagging through the pockets of Saturday shoppers. She’s nothing short of a woman on a mission.  

Trini trails a few steps behind, trying her best to mirror Kimberly’s moves, but can’t seem to help but bump into every single person in her path. 

“Keep up, Grumpy,” Kimberly jokingly calls out over her shoulder. 

Trini grumbles a few nondescript words in Spanish back and picks up her pace. 

_ Trini’s torn. She doesn’t want to be disgruntled… especially when she knows that Kimberly has something up her sleeve, but it’s just that she can’t stand the mall. _

_ No. That’s not a strong enough word. Trini fucking loathes the mall.   _

_ Why? Because the mall equals shopping. And shopping equals… _

_ It equals the missing level of hell that’s solely reserved for Trini to suffer through. _

_ There’s a part of Trini that can’t help but wonder if her deep seeded hatred of shopping comes from her mother. After years of painful trips to stores that only ever resulted in fights and impromptu lectures about how she should dress, she has learned that when it comes to shopping, it’s best just to get in and get out as quickly as humanly possible. And, of course, grab the most generic, comfortable yet non-problem inducing items available. _

Trini suddenly comes to a crashing halt, right smack dab into the back of Kimberly. She stumbles backward, desperately attempting to regain her footing and hold onto the last few remaining shreds of coolness that she has.

“We’re here.” A coy smile slowly crawls across Kimberly’s face as she motions towards the store they are standing in front of.

Trini takes one look and is immediately hit with a wave of unexpected excitement.

_ How does Kimberly know?  _

_ Or is it just a random fluke? Some sort of weird, serendipitous, coincidence that happens every now and then in life. _

_ Trini knows this store. This is the store that she secretly wants to venture into every time her mother drags her out to the mall. The one with the killer, gender-neutral button downs and vintage t-shirts galore. The one that she would shop in if she didn’t have to perpetually worry about what everyone would think.  _

Trini tries to find her words, but can’t. All she can manage to do is stare back at Kimberly with a slight look of confusion mixed with happiness.

“If your mom wants me to rub off on you, then that’s exactly what I’m gonna to do.” 

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“You alive in there?” Kimberly calls out from the other side of the dressing room door.

Trini lets out a light sigh and takes another look at herself in the mirror. 

After a good thirty minutes or so of exploring every inch of the store and questioning Trini on what she really likes style wise, Kimberly had loaded her up with a wide array of button-down shirts and skinny jeans to try on and sent her on a one way trip to the dressing room. 

And now, Trini finds herself, alone in a tiny closet of a room, surrounded by a pile of strewn clothes, staring at someone that she vaguely recognizes yet wants nothing more to desperately be. She’s getting the first glimpse of her true self… 

CLICK.

Trini whips around in a slight panic as dressing room door slowly creeps opens and Kimberly slips inside.

“You weren’t responding, so I…” Kimberly trails off, losing her ability to form words. Her eyes rake over every inch of Trini, fully taking her in.

“Sorry. I was just--”

But Trini doesn’t get a chance to finish her sentence. 

Kimberly lunges forward with a sudden primal urge and attacks Trini’s lips with a fiery, passionate kiss. She buries her hands, deep within Trini’s ombre locks, attempting to get a better angle. 

After what seems to be a lifetime, Trini pulls back out of the kiss and takes a deep, sobering breath of air. Her trademark smirk emerges as she straightens herself up. “So, you like it?”

“Seriously?”

“Dunno. Think I need a second--”

Once again, Trini finds herself silenced by Kimberly’s lips.

_ Those lips. So freakin’ soft and supply. And somehow tastes like an addictive mixture of cherries and ice cream.  _

_ Trini wonders how on earth she has managed to survive so long without these lips upon her own.  _

Kimberly is the first to pull back from their kiss this time. She snakes her hands around Trini’s neck and with the greatest of ease, swoops Trini’s hair up into a messy ponytail. “One word. Hot.” 

Trini can’t help but let a hint of laugh slip through at this confession. “Two words. I try.” 

Kimberly takes a step back from Trini and gives her another once over as her teeth subconsciously sink into her bottom lip. There’s no doubt that there’s only one thought running through her mind at the moment… and it isn’t PG rated.

_ Trini could feel her heart start to swell, instantly doubling in size from the amount of pure love -- and lust -- radiating off of Kimberly. _

_ Trini may not know what exactly they are, but there’s one thing that’s for sure… Kimberly Hart wants her.  _

“Let me take you on a date,” Trini blurts out, breaking the silence between the two of them. 

“A date?”

“Yeah. Like a real one.”

“Okay. But one condition.”

“Condition?” Trini swallows thickly. She tries to remain calm, but her mind instantly swirls with thoughts fueled by self-doubt. 

Kimberly inches close, takes hold of Trini’s button down shirt, and pulls Trini in for yet another searing kiss. “I get to pick your outfit. Deal?”

“Deal.”

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////   

Trini camps out on a nearby mall bench, surrounded by a few shopping bags, mindlessly scrolling through her Twitter feed while waiting for Kimberly to finish up shopping.

Once emerging from the dressing room, Trini and Kimberly had spent another twenty minutes or so, semi-arguing over who was going to pay for Trini’s new wardrobe. Kimberly was absolutely insistent that it was her treat, regardless of how much money it was. 

And of course, Kimberly won out in the end because, like always, Trini can’t say no when it comes to her. 

Trini glances up from her phone for a moment and spots--

Tommy Oliver.

Tommy casually hovers near the store entrance, trying to blend in with the crowd of shoppers. Although his back is towards Trini, it’s evident that his sight is locked in on one thing and one thing only… Kimberly.

Trini slowly puts her phone down and straightens up a little bit as a very pronounced chill runs down her spine.

_ What the hell is Tommy Oliver doing here? And why is he stalking Kimberly?  _

Two questions that race through Trini’s mind at lightning speed.

_ Should she go over and say something?  _

_ Maybe he isn’t staring at Kimberly? Perhaps, she just imagining-- _

Tommy turns around, momentarily locking his gaze onto Trini. Suddenly--

His eyes FLASH GREEN.

Trini jolts backward in shock as Tommy up and disappears back into the steady stream human traffic. She sits there, in stunned silence as her mind attempts to comprehend what she has just witnessed.

_ What the fuck? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't mind the typos. More rough than usual this week thanks to life / work getting in the way of writing. Enjoy and as always, feel free to comment away!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Spectacular, isn’t it? Something so small can wield such a massive amount of power. But I don’t have to tell you about it. You’ve got a matching one of these in your pocket.”
> 
> “How?” Trini stares at the power coin in sheer disbelief.
> 
> There can’t be another coin… right?  
> \---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
> A lot less fluff and a lot more plot :)

“Checkmate.” Zack leans back in his chair, planting his hands behind his head with a semi-cocky grin.

“What? Bullshit!” Trini scans the chessboard in sheer disbelief. She can’t bring herself to accept that Zack has beaten her once again and yet the board doesn’t lie. It’s indeed a checkmate.

Trini had shown up at Zack’s trailer, three hours ago, shortly after school let out, with no actual explanation as to why she was there. She had just waltzed in with a box of plain glazed donuts, and an iced caramel latte -- Zack’s mom’s favorite -- plopped herself down at the kitchen table and asked Zack to set up the board. 

_ And that’s what Trini loves about the most about her friendship with Zack. She never needs to explain herself. No barrage of questions. No need to fill the silence with pointless small talk. Zack just knows how to be there for her without making it into something more. _

“‘Fraid so, Crazy Girl.”

“You fuckin’ cheated,” Trini grumbles, crossing her arms firmly against her body. 

“Nope,” Zack adds a pop on the end of the word, just to irk Trini even further. He knows he’s playing with fire, but then again, is more than accustomed to getting burned by the fiery Latina. “You just suck.”

“Again.”

Zack lets out a chuckle and then starts to set back up the board. “We can play all night, if you want, Shorty. You’re not gonna beat me.”

“Again,” Trini replies with a stubborn determination. She’s not ready to throw the towel in just yet.

“Whatever you say, Mrs. Hart.”

“Fuck you.” 

“Never in a million years. I’ve seen what your girl can do. There’s no way I’m gettin’ on her bad side.”

“She’s not my--”

“Girl. Yeah… Yeah… Let’s see what tune you’re whistlin’ after tomorrow night.” Zack makes his opening move on the board without even a second thought. 

Trini lets out a frustrated sigh as she sinks her head into her hands and studies the board. 

“It’s just a date.”

“Ah. That, my friend, is where you’ve got it all wrong. It’s a first date. Emphasis on the word first. As in first of many… Or, as in first and only. All depends.”

“On what?” Trini finally makes up her mind and cautiously moves her pawn across the board.

No sooner as her hand moves off of her piece, Zack swoops in and counters. He isn’t even breaking a sweat. 

“Check.”

“Damnit!” Trini quickly moves her queen to safety. “Depends on what?”

“On you, my mini Cassanova. What’s your plan?” Zack swiftly moves another piece, not even paying attention to the board. 

“I… I…”

“You’ve got a plan, right? C’mon, Crazy Girl. You’ve gotta have a plan.”

“I do.”

“Then what is it?” Zack captures yet another one of Trini’s pieces, plopping it down into his ever-growing pile. 

“What’s what?”

“Your grand plan. Ya know. The one where you sweep Kim off of her feet and then you two go back to her place and--”

“You finish that sentence, and it’ll be your last, Taylor.” Trini shoots Zack a death stare as she slams her piece down on the board, causing it to slightly crack in the process. “We’re gonna go see a movie.”

“And?”

“And what? That’s it.”

Zack shakes his head in slight disbelief and lets another chuckle slip out. “That’s not a first date.”

“Says who?”

“Says everyone who’s ever gotten a second date,” Zack replies with a smirk. He moves his knight across the board, blocking in Trini’s queen with a well-calculated death blow. “Checkmate.”

“Fuck.”

In a fit of frustration, Trini suddenly sweeps her hand over the board, sending all of the remaining pieces scattering about the kitchen. She sinks her head down into the confines of her arms, hiding away from the world for a moment.

_ Shit. _

_ Trini shouldn’t have done that. Not that the chessboard is anything of real value to Zack. Hell, Trini has already replaced it four times in the last six months.   _

_ It’s more about the sudden burst of emotions.  _

_ Trini has always been somewhat of a master of her emotions. And by a master, she means, bottling them up and shoving them deep down inside with the hopes that they will never, ever see the light of day.  _

_ But lately-- _

“I’m not good at these things,” Trini whispers in a low, hushed tone, almost as if she secretly hopes it goes unnoticed. 

A momentary stillness falls between the two of them and then suddenly-- 

THUD.

“Hey!” Trini head pops up just in time to see the black knight piece ricochet off of her head and onto the kitchen table in front of her. “What the hell?”

“Stop thinkin’ about it, Crazy Girl. Just be you. The rest will take care of itself.”

“That’s it? Some sage ass advice.” 

Zack simply shrugs his shoulders and gets up from his seat, stretching his long limbs in the process. “Yup.”

With that, Zack plants a brotherly kiss on the top of Trini’s head and heads through the kitchen towards the bathroom, leaving Trini to sit there lost within her own thoughts.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Why you have a tie?” 

Trini’s eyes pop open at the sound of her brother Diego’s voice as it cuts through the peaceful silence of her bedroom. She pulls her headphones down and scrambles up to a sitting position on her bed.

_ Fuuuuck. _

There, before her, stands Diego, holding a bag -- the bag of clothes that Kimberly picked out for her to be exact -- in one hand and a skinny, pale yellow tie in the other. 

“Girls don’t wear ties.”

Trini’s mind instantly goes into overdrive. What the fuck should she do? 

_ She NEEDS that bag and not like in a few days kind of way… Trini needs it in less than two hours time. _

“Give it.” Trini lunges in an attempt to snatch the bag, but Diego’s too quick. He counters her move, dangling the bag just out of her reach.

“Why?”

“Cause it’s mine, Asswipe. Now give it back.” 

“No way.” Diego turns his back towards Trini and starts to rummage through the rest of the of the bag, with little to no disregard for its actual contents.  

Trini can feel her blood boiling as she watches Diego's grubby little paws manhandle the items of clothes as if they are some long lost artifact that needs to be thoroughly studied. 

_ Those are HER CLOTHES.  _

_ The ones that Kimberly took her time picking out just for Trini and Trini alone. The ones that she is going to wear on their date… their first date. The one that makes Trini feel more like herself than anything else that happens to reside in her closet. _

“Where’d you get these? They look like Papí’s.”

“Give… it… back…” Trini growls, inching closer to Diego. She puffs herself up a bit, trying her best to appear threatening even though she’s only at best an inch taller than he is.

“Make me,” Diego counter, sticking his tongue out in true 10-year-old annoying, little brother fashion. 

And that’s all Trini needs to hear. In a burst of sudden rage, she up and tackles Diego to the floor, pinning his arms behind his back in the process. 

“Mamí!!” Diego screams out as he squirms under the weight of Trini’s body.  

“Trinity Maria Rodriguez!” 

Trini instantly lets go of Diego at the sound of her name… her full name. 

_ Double fuuuck. _

Trini’s mother, June, appears in the bedroom doorway, earrings still in hand and heels halfway on. From the stern look painted across her face, it’s clear that she’s anything but happy. 

“Mamí!” Diego pops up off of the floor and races towards June, tucking himself behind her body like a human shield. “Trini attacked me.”

“Trinity, what have I told you about--”

“He started it! He was going through my stuff,” Trini blurts out as she pulls herself up off of the ground and quickly straightens out her shirt. 

Trini knows how this looks. 

_ And, more so, she knows her mother. It’s not going to matter what Trini says or if she’s genuinely in the wrong or not…   _

_ Her mother has already made her mind up. Trini is guilty.  _

_ She’s always guilty.  _

June’s eyes scan over the random pieces of the clothing strewn about the floor and immediately hones in on the lone yellow tie. “¿Quién es la corbata?”

“It’s Trini’s,” Diego pipes up from behind June. 

Trini cringes at these words. She knows this isn’t going to end well.

“Mija?”

“It’s nothin’” Trini mumbles in response as her body instinctively shrinks inwards.  

“Las chicas no llevan este tipo de cosas,” June spats back out, with a level of utter disdain to her voice. She swiftly makes her way into the room, collects the items on the floor, and stuffs them back into the bag as if she’s touching old, dirty rags. 

“¿Comprende?” 

Trini gives the tiniest of nods, not able to bring herself to actual form coherent words. She watches, somewhat frozen in place, as June turns back around and leaves her room, bag in hand, followed close behind by Diego.

_ Trini can’t seem to breathe.  _

_ Logically, she knows her lungs are still working. That air is traveling in and out of her body at a semi-regular rate.  _

_ And yet…  _

Trini collapses back onto her bed as an overall sense of numbness washes over her. Two distinct trails of tears snake their way down her cheeks.

_ Trini really needed that bag. _

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Trini lightly jogs down Main street, zig-zagging her way through the oncoming flow of pedestrian traffic.

_ She’s late. Fifteen freakin’ minutes late for their first date.  _

_ And to top it all off, Trini’s got nothing to show for it. No special outfit. No bouquet of pink roses. Hell, not even a box of Kimberly’s favorite chocolate cake glazed donuts.  _

_ All Trini has is just herself, and truthfully, at this very moment, she isn’t quite sure if it’s enough. Especially for someone like Kimberly. _

_ Trini’s grand plan hadn’t accounted for her mother finding her outfit nor the 45-minute impromptu lecture that had followed. The one where Trini was reminded once again that no self-respecting “girl” would ever get a boyfriend by dressing in button downs and ties. That type of clothing only leads to questions and rumors spread around in hushed whispers from her mother’s church-going friends.  _

Trini rounds the corner and immediately spots Kimberly--

_ God, she’s wearing her leather jacket.  _

\-- across the street, standing in front of the theater. She goes to open her mouth to call out to her, when suddenly--

Two massive hands jut out from behind Trini, one wrapping over her mouth and another around her waist. 

Before Trini even has time to react, she’s lifted right off of the ground and thrown into a nearby side alleyway.

THUD.

Trini’s body collides a brick wall with a mind-numbing crunch, sending bits of debris flying in every direction. She slides downwards, awkwardly landing on the cold, wet ground below.  

_ What the fuck? _

Trini shakes her head a bit as her world comes back into focus. She springs onto her feet and comes face to face with--

Tommy Oliver.

“Hello, Trini.” A twisted, almost predatory like, smile crawls across Tommy’s lips as he looms over Trini.

“Jesus! What the hell?” Trini throws a punch at Tommy, but he anticipates her move and counters by grabbing hold of her wrist, wrenching her arm upwards in the process. 

_ Pain.  _

_ That’s all Trini can process at the moment. Pure, undiluted pain. It radiates out from her wrist and courses through the rest of her body at an excruciating rate.  _

_ One more inch and her arm are going to shatter into a million and one pieces. _

“Good. Now, that I’ve got your attention, we need to chat.” Tommy readjusts his hold on Trini and with one fell swoop, flings her across the alleyway, directly into the side of a dumpster.

SMACK.

Trini hits the dumpster at full force, instantly creating a body sized indentation. She once again tumbles to the ground, rolling onto her hands and knees and spats out a mouthful of blood. 

“Fuck.” Trini stumbles, trying to regain her footing, pulling herself up into a fighting stance.  

_ Something is wrong. _

_ Trini can’t pinpoint it, but something is seriously, freakin’ wrong.  _

_ She feels weak. No. Scratch that. Trini feels like all of her strength has been up and zapped right out of her body. _

_ She can barely manage to stand at the moment, let alone actually defend herself. _

_ What the hell’s going on? _

“Ah. Yeah. I bet you’re wondering why you feel as weak as an ICU patient, right?”  Tommy strides over towards Trini and shoves her backward, right back onto the ground. 

Trini winces in pain as she lands hard on her arms. She doesn’t attempt to get back up.  

Tommy digs into his jeans pocket and produces a--

GREEN POWER COIN.

“Spectacular, isn’t it? Something so small can wield such a massive amount of power. But I don’t have to tell you about it. You’ve got a matching one of these in your pocket.”

“How?” Trini stares at the power coin in sheer disbelief.

_ There can’t be another coin… right?  _

_ Zordon would’ve mentioned it. He wouldn’t freely choose to skip over this critical piece of information. Would he?  _

_ There has to be another explanation… _

“You know how,” Tommy replies with an underlying menacing tone to his voice. 

“Rita.”

“Bingo.” 

Tommy takes a moment to flip the coin into the air, letting the streetlights dance against its emerald green center. “But unlike yours. This one’s an extra bit special. Call it Ranger kryptonite.”

Then, without a moment’s hesitation, Tommy snatches the coin mid-air and presses it down hard against Trini’s cheek. 

“Ahhhhhh,” Trini screams out in agony as streaks of green light pulsate throughout her skin. It burns deep within her soul as if thousands of microscopic knives are stabbing every inch of her very being. 

_ Tommy Oliver is going to kill her. Right here and now. In a dingy alleyway, only fifty feet away from Kimberly… _

_ Oh God… Kimberly.  _

With every ounce of strength, Trini has left, she raises her hand and slaps away the coin, sending it flying into a nearby puddle.

“Wrong move, Yellow,” Tommy growls in response. He scrambles to retrieve the coin, shoving it back into his pocket. 

“You're not gonna get away with this,” Trini huffs out, trying her best to remain calm even though she can barely catch her breath, let alone move.

“Oh, but I will. And you’re going to let me.”

“In your dreams, Asshole.”

“Two words. Kimberly Hart.” Another twisted smile crawls back across Tommy’s face. “You say one word of this. Any of this. To anyone. And I’ll make sure that you get the full pleasure of watching your girlfriend die.” 

“You wouldn’t…”

“Try me.” Tommy gives an exaggerated shrug of his shoulders and then plants a blackout worthy kick to Trini’s gut for added measure.

Trini instantly doubles over, clutching her stomach with both hands as she fights the overwhelming urge to pass out.

“Nice chatting with you, Yellow. I’ll see you around.”

With that, Tommy turns around and makes his way back out of the alleyway, leaving Trini entirely and utterly alone.  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I'm posting this up a day early because I made a last minute decision to deviate from my outline a bit and break this chapter up into two parts. 
> 
> Promise, there's a lot more Trimberlg to come in the second half.
> 
> Enjoy!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kimberly tucks her phone back into her pocket and bends down next to Trini. She carefully slips her arms under Trini’s legs and around her back, scooping her up bridal style.
> 
> “Kim, you can’t--”
> 
> “Shut up, okay?” Kimberly gingerly readjusts her arms, making sure she’s got a firm grip on Trini. “I’ve got you.”
> 
> \-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> The (fluffy) aftermath of Trini's running in with Tommy.

“TRINI!” 

Trini lets out a low groan as the sound of Kimberly’s voice echoed in the nearby distance. 

_ It has been two hours… or maybe three?  _

_ Hard to gauge time when she doesn’t have a cell phone to check.  _

_ Three hours since Trini’s run-in with Tommy. Three hours and yet, she still can’t manage to make heads or tails of what exactly happened.  _

_ Tommy Oliver is possessed by Rita -- or whatever is left of Rita -- that’s for sure. _

_ But the rest? How does he have a power coin? And why can it drain her power?  _

_ Trini wants answers. No. Scratch that. She NEEDS answers.  _

_ But at the cost of putting Kimberly’s life at risk?  _

_ No. She can’t do it. No matter if it means lying to the people that matter most to her. _

Trini struggles to push herself up a bit against the large boulder she’s been leaning on for the last hour or so and braces herself for the immediate aftershock of blackout worth pain. Every movement, including the mere act of breathing, is beyond excruciating. Trini hasn’t been able to accurately assess the damages to her body but is pretty damn sure that she’s at least got a few bruised -- if not broken -- ribs. 

“I’m here,” Trini responds with a somewhat labored breath of air.

_ Trini’s not exactly sure how she really ended up “here” in the first place.  _

_ It took her a good thirty minutes or so after Tommy had left her, just to be able to pull herself up onto her feet. And then another extra ten, in order to be able to actually walk again. _

_ Lucky enough, though, by that point, Trini’s superhuman-like strength -- along with other extraordinary abilities -- had started to return, making it at least feasible for her to get herself out of that alleyway.  _

_ Trini had briefly considered just heading home and sneaking back into her bedroom, but decided against it when she realized that there would be no way that she could make it onto the roof in her current condition. Plus, if she happened to get caught by her parents, there would be no way in hell she could explain herself. _

_ So Trini had opted to head for the one place where she knew no one would find herself. Her quasi-fortress of solitude buried deep within the remote forest surrounding the quarry. Somewhere where Trini could lick her wounds -- not literally -- and take a few hours to recover before having to head back and face her reality. _

“Trini? Is that you?” Kimberly’s voice cuts through the night air once again. This time closer than before. 

“Yeah. It’s me.” Trini lets out a light sigh as she mentally braces for what’s about to come. Although she has yet to spot Kimberly, she already knows that Kimberly’s angry. Trini can just hear it within the tone of her voice.  

A moment passes and then Kimberly suddenly emerges from the thick blanket of bushes and tree branches right in front of Trini. 

“Jesus Trini! Where the fuck has you been?? Do you even know how worried I’ve--” Kimberly trails off mid-rant as she finally gets a good look at Trini. Her eyes grow wide in a beautiful mixture of horror and gut-wrenching concern as she tries to comprehend what exactly has happened.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Trini quickly offers up in response. 

“Trini…” Kimberly can’t seem to find her words as tears glisten in her eyes. Every ounce of anger instantly dissipates and is replaced only with undiluted fear. 

Trini goes to straighten herself up even more, in an attempt to back her words, but no such luck. As soon as she shifts her weight, a searing white-hot streak of pain bolts through her body. 

“Fuck.” Trini sucks in a sharp breath of air and grits her teeth, She’s using every last ounce of strength she has left not to cry. 

_ Don’t cry… Don’t cry… Don’t cry… _

_ Hands. Kimberly’s hands to be exact.  _

_ Kimberly’s hands are on her body… They’re warm and tender, yet somehow at the same time firm and supportive.  _

_ Those hands mean that maybe -- just maybe -- she isn’t really alone in all of this after all.  _

 

“Who did this?” Kimberly asks as she gently brushes her hand over Trini’s bruised cheek and tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“No one.”

“Trini…”

“Honestly, Princess. It doesn’t matter.” Trini lets out a long exhale of breath and shuts her eyes for a moment. Even the act of talking is almost too much for her to bare. 

A brief silence falls between the two of them, then--

“Jase?”

Trini’s eyes pop back open at the sound of Kimberly’s voice and spots a cell phone pressed against firmly against Kimberly’s ear. “You’re callin’ Jason?”

Kimberly simply ignores Trini, turning a bit away from her and shifts the phone to her other ear. “Yeah. I did. Can you let the others know? Thanks. I’ll fill you in later… You too...Bye.” 

Kimberly tucks her phone back into her pocket and bends down next to Trini. She then, ever so carefully, slips her arms under Trini’s legs and around her back, scooping her up bridal style.

“Kim, you can’t--”

“Shut up, okay?” Kimberly gingerly readjusts her arms, making sure she’s got a firm grip on Trini. “I’ve got you.”

“Okay,” Trini replies, letting her body relax into Kimberly’s strong arms. 

“Good. Now let’s get you outta here.” Kimberly plants a light but loving kiss on Trini’s forehead, and that’s all it takes for Trini to start to drift into a deep, dreamless slumber.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Sure, Mrs. Gomez. I’ll let her know.”

Trini stirs in a groggy, not quite awake sorta state.

_ Did Kimberly just say, Mrs. Gomez?  _

_ As in her last name Gomez? As in her mother?? _

Trini jolts upright in sheer panic as that last sobering thought hits her like a ton of bricks, momentarily forgetting that she’s injured. But then--

“Fuck!” Trini winces, grabbing hold of her side for dear life. She falls back into the comfy confines of Kimberly’s pink pillows and comforter as the pain slowly subsides to a more tolerable level.

Kimberly puts her phone down on her desk and quickly makes her way across the room towards her bed. “Hey. Try not to move.”

“Were you just talking to my mom?” Trini attempts to shift and instantly sucks in a deep breath of air through her teeth.  

“Stop moving.” 

“Kim--”

“I mean it,” Kimberly takes a seat on the edge of the bed and gently re-adjusts the pillows behind Trini’s head. “You need to rest.”

“Fine,” Trini grumbles back in response with a bit of a pout. 

A slow smile crawls across Kimberly’s lips. “Good. And yes, that was your mom. I let her know you were crashing at my house tonight.”

“How did you…”

“Billy. I couldn’t find your phone, so I had him help me track down her number.”

“What did she say?”

“Not too much. Just thanked me for calling and to tell you to check in with her tomorrow. Oh… And told us to have fun with our slumber party,” Kimberly replies with a slight chuckle.

“Jesus…”

“Yeah.” 

Kimberly carefully lays herself down next to Trini, making sure not to jostle the bed too much as she does. 

A sobering silence falls between the two of them as they both stare up at the ceiling, just waiting for the other to talk. 

_ Trini wants to say something… God, how she wants to. _

_ But what? What can she say?   _

_ If Tommy is capable of doing this much damage to her, then just imagine what he could do to-- _

“What happened to your phone?”

“Smashed.”

Kimberly nods in response, taking a moment to carefully think over her next question. “Ready to tell me who did this to you?”

Trini sinks her teeth deep into her bottom lip and ever so slightly shakes her head. 

“Okay. Can I take a guess then?” Kimberly pushes herself up onto her side, propping her head up with her arm, and locks eyes with Trini. “It wasn’t something supernatural, cause you would’ve fought back. So that leads me to believe that it was your plain, old ordinary person. Or persons given the amount of damage they did to you.”

_ God, those eyes… _

_ How can those eyes manage to bore into her soul so effortlessly and efficiently?  _

“Maybe someone who’s got it out for you for no real reason, other than…” Kimberly trails off for a moment as her voice starts to quiver.

_ Shit… Shit… Shit… _

_ Kimberly thinks it’s Amanda. Or someone doing Amanda’s bidding. _

“Someone who wants to get back at me by going after…” Tears whelm up in Kimberly’s eyes as she struggles to finish her sentence. 

Trini reaches over and cups Kimberly’s face with her hands, gently brushing away the traces of tears with her thumbs. “It’s okay, Princess. I’m okay.”

Kimberly lets out a light laugh. “You’ve got a strange definition of okay.”

“Yeah, well looks can be deceiving.” Trini flashes Kimberly her signature cocky grin for added measure and then wraps her arm around Kimberly’s shoulder, pulling her in close. “Can we just sleep for a bit? Promise to fill you in on the details later.”

“Sure.” Kimberly nuzzles her head into Trini’s chest, pressing her ear up against Trini’s heart in the process. She lets out a heavy sigh. 

“Goodnight, T.”

“Night, Beautiful.”

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 

_ Hands… Cold, bony hands. _

_ Trini can feel them wrap around her neck, crushing down upon her airway in the process.  _

_ The hands start to tighten, cutting off her abilities to breath. Trini thrashes as her own fingers claws at the mysterious set of hands in a desperate attempt to get them to release their grip, but it’s of little use. _

_ Trini looks up, and all that is staring back at her is a set of glow green eyes.  _

_ Those eyes… She knows those eyes. _

“Shhh… Baby, it’s okay. I’ve got you.”

Trini’s eyes flutter open, adjusting slightly to the darkness of the bedroom as a calming realization that she’s not in danger washes over her. “Did you just call me baby?”

“Sorry. You were having a nightmare and I…” Kimberly nervously rambles in response as she props herself up and runs her hands through her short, messy locks.

Trini reaches up and places her finger on Kimberly’s lips to silence her. “Stop.”

“You like it?”

“I didn’t say that, Princess.”

“Oh, you totally like it.” A coy smirk crawls across Kimberly’s face, accentuated by the stray rays of moonlight that dance within the bedroom. 

And at that moment, a bold, singular thought flashes into Trini’s mind--

_ She wants to be with Kimberly… and now. _

Trini suddenly surges forward, attacking Kimberly with a savagely passionate kiss. She doesn’t hold back. Nor really wants to. 

Kimberly eagerly kisses Trini back with that same ferocious level of hunger. Her hands subconsciously wrap themselves into Trini’s hair, pulling her closer as she swipes her tongue against Trini’s bottom lip, begging for entrance. 

Trini happily obliges as she shifts her body backward, allowing Kimberly to take the lead. A hint of a groan escapes as she falls into the pillows.

Kimberly immediately pulls back with a flash of concern in her eyes.

“Did I hurt--”

“I’m good.” 

“Trini…”

“Kimberly…” Trini quips back with a playful smirk, followed by a quick nip of Kimberly’s pulse point. “I’m good.”

And that’s all Kimberly needs to hear. She straddles Trini, planting her knees on either side of Trini’s hips and in one swift motion, rips off her tank top revealing that she isn’t wearing a bra.

“Ay, dios mío,” Trini mutters as her hands snake up Kimberly’s body, finding their way towards Kimberly’s supple breast. She gently kneads them with a slight sense of wonderment almost as if to confirm that they are real.

“See something you like?”

“You’re so beautiful.” 

Kimberly lets a light, bashful chuckle slip out as she tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She reaches down, takes hold of the edge of Trini's shirt, and ever so gently lifts it over Trini’s head careful to avoid her ribs. “So are you.”

Unable to find her words, Trini pulls Kimberly back down into another searing kiss, throwing every ounce of emotion she has into it.

_ Trini’s brain seems to fully process what’s actually transpiring. _

_ Kimberly… Kimberly Hart is fully straddling her, topless. And it isn’t a dream.  _

_ How? How the hell has she gotten this fucking lucky? _

Suddenly, Trini snaps back out of her thoughts as she feels Kimberly’s hands trail down her abs and head southwards, towards the waistband of her shorts. She can’t help but tense up at this sensation.

Kimberly notices and stops short. “T, we don’t have to--”

“No, I want to, it’s just…” Trini trails off as a deep embarrassment spreads across her cheeks. 

“I’m your first?”

Trini shuts her eyes as her teeth sink deep into her bottom lip and gives the tiniest of nods.

_ And it’s at that very moment, Trini wants nothing more than to crawl under the bed and be left alone to die from complete and utter embarrassment. _

“Hey…” Kimberly gently cups Trini’s chin and tilts her head back towards her. “Look at me.”

Trini slowly opens her eyes and is immediately greeted by Kimberly’s heartwarming smile. 

“Let me take care of you.”  

Trini can’t help but match Kimberly’s smile. She leans back onto the bed, fully submitting to what’s to come as a sense of comfort washes over her. “Alright, Princess.”

_ God… How she loves this girl. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late-ish posting of this chapter. Once again had originally planned for it to be a bit longer, but was wrapped up this week with VidCon. 
> 
> Hope this makes up for last week's chapter ;) Enjoy!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Wow Hart. I heard you were slummin’ it, but seriously?”
> 
> Trini instantly tenses up at the sound of Amanda’s voice and decouples herself from Kimberly.
> 
> Fuuuck.
> 
> Not here… not now.  
> \----------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
> Trini deals with the aftermath of the night before... both the good and the bad.

_ To tell her or not to tell her… _

_ Trini has spent the better part of the last hour, weighing the pros and cons in her head and still doesn’t have a clear answer.  _

_ But maybe there just isn’t one…   _

_ Both choices come with consequences. Some more life-threatening than others, but still, consequences nonetheless. _

_ What if she says nothing and something happens… something that she could’ve prevented?   _

_ What if she tells the others about Tommy and his freakin’ mysterious, power-draining green coin? Would they hate her for not saying something sooner?  _

_ What if Tommy stays true to his word and goes after Kimberly? She won’t be able to fight back… None of them will. _

Trini draws her knees up closer to her chest, as she stares out Kimberly’s bedroom window. Warm amber rays of light are just beginning to crest above the treetops in the distance. It’s early… too early to be up. But sleep is just not an option for Trini at the moment. 

_ Trini would kill to be just a few years old. 21 maybe? Hell, even 18 would be better. Then up and running away with Kimberly would seem like a more feasible third option. _

_ Not that she could ever convince Kimberly to do that… Nor could she ever actually go through with it herself. Trini could never up and leave Jason, Zack, and Billy like that. They’re her family. _

“Deep in thought?” Kimberly’s sleepy voice cuts through the silence of the bedroom.

Trini snaps out of her of thoughts and glances back at Kimberly, who’s starting to stir awake in the bed.

“Nah, just couldn’t sleep.”

“You know your left eye twitches when you lie?”

“Does not.”

Kimberly gives a playful shrug as a yawn escapes her lips. “Fine, don’t believe me.”

Trini uncurls herself from Kimberly’s window bench and makes her way towards the bed. She slips beneath the covers and back into Kimberly’s warm embrace.

_ Never in a million years would Trini have pegged herself to be such a little spoon.  _

_ Never, of course, until Kimberly.  _

_ There’s just something about Kimberly’s embrace. It’s as if nothing can harm her wrapped within those arms. That she’s -- maybe for the first time ever -- truly and utterly safe. _

Trini snuggles a bit closer, allowing for Kimberly to wrap her arms even tighter around her waist. 

“What time is it?” Kimberly mumbles as she plants a loving kiss on the top of Trini’s head.

“Early.”

“Like early enough to go back to sleep?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.” Kimberly nuzzles her face deep within the confines of Trini’s hair. “Cause I need it. Especially after last night.”

Trini can’t help but smile a bit at this comment.

_ She had had sex… Sex with Kimberly Hart. And it was nothing short of amazing. _

“A little worn out, huh?” Trini replies with a little hint of cockiness.

“Hmmm… just a little bit,” Kimberly hums as she nips at Trini’s neck. “But it doesn’t get you off the hook.”

“For what?”

“Our date. You still owe me one.”

Trini lets out a sigh and rolls over to face Kimberly. As she does, a dull pain shoots across her ribs, causing her to suck in a sharp breath of air.

“T, you shouldn’t be--”

“For the hundredth time, I’m okay. I swear.” Trini cuts Kimberly off, forcing a smile across her face as she carefully repositions her body to relieve some of the pressure on her rib cage. “You worry too much, Princess.”

“I’m allowed to worry. My girlfriend literally had the crap beaten out of her last night.” 

Trini’s eyes instantly grow wide at these words.

_ Did Kimberly Hart just refer to her as “her girlfriend”??? _

_ She has to be dreaming, right?  _

_ Sure, they are sorta dating and yeah, they had had sex. But that doesn’t automatically mean-- _

“Is that okay? I didn’t mean to assume, but--”

“Yeah. It’s more than okay.” Trini can’t contain her smile, nor wants to. She leans up and seizes Kimberly’s lips in a passionate kiss, pouring all of her emotions into it. 

After what seems like a lifetime, Kimberly pulls out of the kiss and matches Trini’s smile with a playful smirk of her own. “Would’ve never pegged you to be such a mushball.”

“Am not.”

“Oh, you so totally are. And it’s adorable.” 

“Whatever, Princess,” Trini grumbles in response with a little bit of a pout. “Tell anyone, and I’ll kill you.”

Kimberly simply chuckles and then, every so gently, helps Trini roll back over, wrapping her arms back around her in the process. She pulls Trini in until almost every inch of their bodies are touching. “Sleep, yes?”

“Yeah,” Trini exhales with a breath of air, as she lets her body completely relax into Kimberly. 

_ Trini knows that she still has a lot to figure out, but for the moment, she doesn’t want to think about it. All she wants is to just exist, there within Kimberly’s… No. Scratch that. Her girlfriend’s arms. _

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Anyone ever told you, you look good in pink?” Kimberly whispers to Trini, as she tucks a loose strand of Trini’s hair behind her ear.

“You made me wear this just so you could say that,” Trini replies back as a maddening blush spreads like rapid fire across her cheeks. She fidgets with the front pocket of pale pink, oversized hoodie, while nervously glancing around at the other Krispy Kreme patrons in line. 

“Maybe,” Kimberly hums with a coy smirk. “Or maybe I just like seeing you in my clothes.”

Kimberly plants a light, but meaningful kiss on Trini’s lips.

_ Sure, Trini’s more than used to Kimberly’s non-stop, outwardly displays of affection. Hell, she’s been the primary target of them for the past few months now.  _

_ But now… now it’s different.  _

_ Now, they’re together.  _

_ And now, what once could be easily played off as a simple, friendly hug between best friends, isn’t so easy to explain. _

_ Trini doesn’t want to hide. That’s the last thing in the world she wants to do.  _

_ But, being out in such a public space, where anyone could see them-- _

“The usual?”

“Huh?” Trini focuses her attention back on Kimberly and suddenly realizes that they’re now at the front of the line. 

“Donuts. You want the usual? Or are you feeling adventurous?”

“Surprise me, Princess.”

Kimberly laughs at this response as she turns her attention back to the boy behind the counter. “Famous last words.”

“Yeah, whatever. Just no jelly ones.” Trini attempts to act aloof, but it’s of little use. She can’t seem to hold onto a single ounce of her cool exterior when she’s around that girl. 

_ Freakin’ kryptonite. _

_ That’s the only explanation for it. Kimberly is her kryptonite, and she’s just a helpless, babbling idiot, who’s head over heels in-- _

“Wow Hart. I heard you were slummin’ it, but seriously?”

Trini instantly tenses up at the sound of Amanda’s voice and decouples herself from Kimberly.

_ Fuuuck. _

_ Not here… not now.  _

“Seriously what?” Kimberly finishes paying and then whips around to come face to face with Amanda. 

Amanda lowers her sunglasses and casually motions over toward Trini. “Her.”

“ **Her** name is Trini.” 

Trini starts to shift uncomfortably from foot to foot as a general sense of uncertainty washes over her. 

_ The last twenty-four hours have been nothing short of physically -- and emotionally -- draining. First, her mother. Then Tommy. And now, of course, this. _

_ It’s like some significant ass cosmic joke. Anything that’s remotely good in her life always has to come with some sorta catch. Some sorta downside. _

_ For example, at this very moment. Right here, in the freakin’ Krispy Kreme, of all places. _

_ All Trini is trying to do is grab a quick breakfast with her girlfriend -- god, she loves that word -- before heading out to detention. Nothing more than that.  _

_ And yet, she can't even get this simple moment without some sorta drama. _

“God. Ty was so right.” Amanda lets out a light, but sadistic laugh as her eyes bounce from Trini to Kimberly, and then back to Trini again.  “You’re a major dyke.”

“Excuse me?” Kimberly takes a slight step backward, almost as if the word themselves have physically hit her. A brief flash of pain crosses her face but is quickly replaced by a mask of pure anger.

_ Shit… Shit… Shit… _

Trini reaches out and wraps her hand around Kimberly’s forearm, giving it a light tug. It’s taking every ounce of her own self-control not to lunge at Amanda herself.  “C’mon. Let’s just--”

“Go on. Listen to your pet freak, Hart.”

Kimberly doesn’t respond. She merely twists her arm out of Trini’s grasp and straightens herself up, coming within mere inches of Amanda’s face. 

_ Fuck.  _

_ Trini braces for the worst. And by worst, she means Kimberly up and reacting to Amanda’s comments.   _

_ Not with violence, but with flat-out denial. _

_ Although everything about Kimberly is practically screaming that she won’t do it, there’s a small part of Trini that, nonetheless, still fears it will happen. _

_ That Kimberly will up and deny it all. That, she’ll fall back into her mean girl tendencies, brushing aside all that has transpired between the two of them over the past few weeks.  _

_ That all her words -- spoken and unspoken -- are meaningless.  _

_ That Kimberly Hart doesn’t actually lo-- _

Trini feels Kimberly’s hand slip into her own, firmly entwining their fingers together. This isn’t merely by accident. 

This is a statement.

“First off, I’m bisexual. Get it right. And secondly, if you make one more derogatory remark about my girlfriend, I promise to make your life a living hell.” 

And with that, Kimberly turns on her heels, not even giving Amanda a chance to reply, and leads Trini by the hand, right out of the Krispy Kreme.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Trini slides into the passenger's seat of the car, shuts the door, and then looks over at Kimberly, who’s practically motionless, just staring out the windshield. “Kim?”

“That just happened, didn’t it?” Kimberly exhales with a slight quiver to her voice as her confidence starts to crack. 

“Yeah. And I’ve gotta say, it was kinda hot.” 

Kimberly lets out a laugh in sheer disbelief. “Really?”

Trini flashes Kimberly a playful smirk. “Just a little bit.” 

“If she ever--”

“She’s won’t. Okay? Besides, I’ve put up with worse shit,” Trini cuts Kimberly off. She reaches over and takes hold of Kimberly’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “I’m all right.”

Kimberly smiles and returns the squeeze as a confirmation of Trini’s last words. 

“Good. Now pedal to the metal, Princess. My ass can’t afford to get any more extra Saturday detentions.”

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

_ Torture. _

_ That’s the only word that best describes the last few hours. _

_ Not because of detention itself. Trini can do a Saturday detention in her sleep… literally.   _

_ No. It’s because of the three -- or technically four including Kimberly -- sets of eyes that have been fixated on her, since the very moment she walked into the room. Eyes that all beg to ask the same question. _

_ What the hell happened? _

_ And truthfully, Trini doesn’t know what she’s going to tell them. She can’t tell them the truth. That’s for certain.  _

_ But she doesn’t want to lie to them either. Hell, they’re her family… or at least the closest thing to real family that she’s got. _

_ So she opts for the easiest -- and most familiar -- route possible. Avoidance.  _

_ No passing notes. No eye contact. And definitely no sticking around post-detention.  _

_ No. Trini high tailed it out of there as soon as the clock struck 3pm and headed straight for the cliffs with the intentions of getting into the pit and start training before any of the other rangers could even manage to reach the ship.  _

_ But life, as Trini has come to learn, never goes according to plan… especially when there’s a large, bodiless head and pesky robot involved. _

“Master Trini! Master Trini!” Alpha 5 scurries towards Trini as she makes her way into the ship. “The biometric scans are showing that you have two cracked ribs and a bruised spleen. Are you alright?”

Trini lets out a frustrated sigh and attempts to sidestep around Alpha 5. “I’m fine.”

“But the scans--”

“I said I’m fine,” Trini cuts Alpha 5 off with an underlying bit of aggression to her words. She marches straight towards the entrance of the pit and just when she’s about to get ready to lower herself into it--

“Not so fast, Crazy Girl.”

_ Shit.  _

_ So much for avoidance. _

Trini freezes in her tracks but can’t seem to bring herself to turn around. “What Zack?”

“C’mon. Don’t what me.”

“Fine.” Trini slowly turns to face Zack and is instantly hit with a wave of gut-wrenching guilt. There’s a look of pure, undiluted concern written across Zack’s face, and it’s not short of jarring.

“What the hell went down last night?”

“Long story.”

“But somethin’ happened, right? Cause all of our spidey-senses were completely outta whack.”

“Spidey-what?”

“He’s talking about our ranger connection.” Jason chimes in as he appears in the entrance way of the ship. “We all felt it from a mile away last night. Except we didn’t know at first, it was you.”

Trini starts to fidget with the edges of her shirt as she feels their eyes upon her. Eyes that want answers… answers she just can’t give.

“It was nothin’.”

“Nothing? Dude, it felt like you were being ripped limb from limb with a rusty chainsaw,” Zack retorts in disbelief. 

“Trini, you know you can trust--”

“I know,” Trini cuts Jason off before he can manage to finish his thought. 

“Guys. Back off. She’ll tell us when she’s ready to tell us.” Kimberly emerges from the entrance pool with Billy right on her heels. “All that matters is she’s safe.”

An immediate and uncontrollable blush spreads across Trini’s cheeks as she exchanges a small smile with Kimberly.

“Master Trini! Your heart rate just spiked to abnormally high levels. Are you sure, you’re okay?” Alpha 5 squeals in a frantic state.

Zack can’t help but let out a snicker at this comment. “Yeah, Crazy Girl. Wonder what’s causin’ that? Could it be the same thing that caused that sudden burst of euphoria at 3am this morning?”

“Oh god…” Trini mutters as the realization -- and complete and utter embarrassment -- sinks in. “You felt that too?”

“You kiddin’ me? I woke up from a dead sleep with like the biggest bon--”

“Finish that sentence, Taylor, and it’ll be your last,” Trini mutters under her breath, locking eyes with Zack.

“Please don’t tell me you two…” Kimberly trails off, unable to bring herself to finish that sentence.

Jason and Billy share a sheepish look of guilt that says it all. They more than felt it. 

“Sorta?” Jason replies as he rubs the back of his neck. “But we were already up.”

“And didn’t get an erection like Zack,” Billy gleefully chimes in.

A collective groan circles the group as they all avoid eye contact with each other. This is bordering on too much information… Even for them.

After a moment or two of awkward silence, Jason claps his hands together and forces a smile. “Alright. Let’s get going, shall we?” 

“Aye Aye, Captain,” Zack replies and then jumps into the pit.

Jason starts to follow suit, but Billy hesitates.

“Billy?” Jason questions with an underlying tone of concern to his voice. 

“Right. Yes. I… I was hoping to help Zordon and Alpha 5 run some diagnostic scans instead of training today. Alpha 5 mentioned that the ship’s protection shields have been sporadically failing over the past few days and I--”

“It’s okay. Go.” Jason reassures Billy with a warm smile and then follows Zack into the pit.

“You coming?” Kimberly asks Trini as she makes her way over towards the opening of the pit.

“Yeah. I’ll be there in a minute.” 

Kimberly gives Trini a nod and then disappears into the pit as well.

Trini waits a moment, ensuring that Kimberly’s entirely out of sight and then races to catch up with Billy.

“Hey, Billy. Wait.”

Billy stops in his tracks and turns around to greet Trini. “Yes?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course. You can ask me anything… Well, not anything, anything. But most things. Except for things like my social security number or my --”

“Not gonna ask you that. Promise.”

“Then ask away,” Billy replies with his signature grin.

“What could happen if those protection shields fail? Could someone get in here? Like if they figured out the location of the ship.”

Billy takes a moment, thinking through his answer, and then--

“Most likely no. There’s still the secondary protection in place that would keep them from accessing the interior of the ship itself.”

“A backup?”

“Yup.” 

Trini breathes a slight sigh of relief upon hearing these words. “Cool. Good to know. Thanks, Billy.”

“No problem. The only real way someone can get into the ship is with a power coin,” Billy innocently replies and then takes off towards the morphing grid.

Trini just stands there as Billy’s last comment lingers with her.  A singular and powerful thought runs through her head--

_ They are absolutely fucked. _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies in advance for the typos. Another crazy week work wise which means less time to write / edit. 
> 
> Enjoy and as always, comments / feedback are more than appreciated!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trini and Jason turn away from the counter and start to walk back towards the theater, snacks in hand, when suddenly Trini spots--
> 
> A FLASH OF GREEN.
> 
> Fuuuck.
> 
> Trini’s eyes are playing a cruel trick on her. That’s has to be it. There’s no way that it could be anything else…
> 
> But her gut says otherwise.
> 
> Trini stops dead in her tracks as she feels the goosebumps raise on her arms. Her eyes rapidly scan the surrounding crowd, in a desperate attempt to spot something… anything out of the ordinary.
> 
> Jason picks up on Trini’s sudden heightened sense of panic and stops as well. “Trini, is everything--”  
> \-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
> A little bit of extra Trini / Kimberly fluff to help everyone get through what's to come next...

“Please… Don’t… Stop…” Trini barely manages to huff out as she attempts to get her breathing under control. Her hands grope wildly around, in utter desperation for something to hold onto, but comes up short. Nothing but cold, wet tile.

_This isn’t precisely what Trini had had in mind when she had suggested that they shower together, but she’s definitely not complaining either._

_Hell, if anything… She never ever wants to shower alone again for the rest of her life._

_At first, the suggestion had merely been for the sake of efficiency. Their Friday after-school training session had run long, and they both were in much need of a shower before heading out to meet the boys for their “group Ranger” date at the movies._

_But then, Kimberly had peeled off her sweat-drenched tank top to reveal her perfectly chiseled abs, and Trini’s mind instantly went elsewhere._

_And that’s how Trini wound up in this very moment, in the shower, with her goddess of a girlfriend positioned between her legs, slowly driving her to the brink of insanity with nothing more than the use of her tongue._

Sensing Trini’s dilemma, Kimberly reaches up with her free hand, grabs hold of Trini’s hands, and guides them into her wet raven locks.

“Here,” Kimberly mumbles between lashes of her tongue. “Grab onto me.”

“You sure?”

But Kimberly doesn’t respond. She just picks up the pace with a newfound fervor that is nothing short of mind-blowing.

“Holy shit,” Trini inhales through gritted teeth as her hands wrap themselves deep into Kimberly’s hair. She pushes Kimberly’s head harder against her core, desperate for a much-needed release.

Trini’s feels herself teetering on edge. Her breath quickens as her heart pounds at a frantic, erratic pace. So close. Just a few circles of Kimberly’s tongue and then--

CRACK.

Trini head collides at full force with the white tile wall as her orgasm hit her like a runaway mac truck. Bits of porcelain splinter off in every direction. A massive crack spreads out along the wall as if someone has taken a sledgehammer to it.

Kimberly instantly pops up from between Trini’s legs at the sound of the crack with a look of total concern. “Jesus! Are you okay?”

Trini rubs the back of her head in slight pain and lets a chuckle slip out. “Yeah. More than okay, Princess.”

“You sure?” Kimberly runs her hands over the back of Trini’s head, checking for any signs of injuries.

“Positive.”

Trini pulls Kimberly into a searing kiss, as the water sprays down over the two of them.

_God, Trini wishes she could freeze time and just live in this singular moment for the rest of eternity. There in her girlfriend’s warm embrace._

_No parents. No teenaged homophobic assholes. No looming, danger masquerading in the form of a 6’2” ponytail clad jerk._

Just her and Kimberly. Safe and --

“Kimberly! Honey, you home?”

Both Kimberly’s and Trini’s eyes grow wide at the sound of Mrs. Hart’s voice, as it echoes in the distance.

“Shit.” Kimberly blurts out as she decouples herself Trini.

“Is that your--”

“They weren’t supposed to be home for another hour.”

_Fuuuuk._

_Trini is instantly hit with a wave of fear induced panic. Mr. and Mrs. Hart… As in Kimberly’s parents… As in the last two people on the face of the earth that she would want to find her like this._

“Hey. It’s okay. Trust me.” Kimberly gives Trini a reassuring kiss on the forehead and then slips out of the shower.

“Kim…”

“Just finish up and get dressed. I’ll keep them busy.”

Trini goes to reply, but before she can, the sound of the bathroom door shutting cuts her off. She lets out a deep sigh instead and leans her head back under the comforting streams of hot water.

_Oh god… She’s about to meet her girlfriend’s parents._

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Trini pauses at the top of the stairs, doing yet another quick check to make sure that she looks somewhat “meet the parents worthy” presentable.

_Jeans… not her best pair, but at least they weren’t the ones with a massive rip in the knee._

_Shirt… an oversized pink-colored t-shirt that Kimberly had “accidentally” slipped into her bag one day while they had been training. Not super dressy but at least it was devoid of stains._

_Hair… A hot mess of a bun, but in her defense, there wasn’t a whole lot of options given that she had just moments ago jumped out of the shower. Wearing it down would mean that the back of her t-shirt would be soaked and shoving her beanie over her wet locks would just look, flat out ridiculous._

_Not her best look to say the least, but it could be worse. So much worse…_

Trini takes a sobering, deep breath of air and then with all of the confidence she can muster, proceeds down the steps.

Just as Trini hits the landing from the stairs, Kimberly, Mr. Hart, and Mrs. Hart emerge from the kitchen, mid-conversation. They all stop at the sight of Trini and share matching smiles of delight.  

“Hey.” Kimberly greets Trini with a light hug and then whispers in her ear, “Breathe. They already love you.”

Trini pulls out of the hug with a minor look of confusion.

Love her? But she’s never met them before… How could they possibly--

“Ah. You must be the infamous Trini,” Mr. Hart exclaims a level of enthusiasm to his voice.

“Nice to meet you, sir.” Trini extends her hand but instead finds herself being pulled into a bear hug by Mr. Hart.

“None of that sir business. Frank is just fine. And we’re huggers in this family.”

“Uh okay,” Trini shakily replies as she awkwardly hugs Mr. Hart back.

“Frank, let’s not scare the poor girl off, shall we?” Mrs. Hart takes her turn with a less encompassing, but nonetheless, still welcoming hug. “It’s so lovely to meet you, my dear. Our Kimmie hasn’t stopped talking about you for months now.”

Trini glances over at Kimberly just in time to spot a deepening blush, spreading across her cheeks.

_Months? Kimberly Hart has been talking to her parents about her for months?_

“Mamaji…”

“What? Have you not?”

“I know, but--”

“And now I can see why,” Mrs. Hart continues on as she gives Trini a once over. “So beautiful.”

Trini can’t help but match Kimberly’s blush. “Thank you.”

“So what are you two girls up to tonight? Mamaji and I were thinking about trying that new Chinese place. Care to join us?”

“We’d love to, Bapu, but we’ve already got plans. We’re meeting some friends up at the movies.” Kimberly replies as she recovers a bit from her initial embarrassment.  

“Ah. Raincheck then.”

“Sure, Mr. Har… I mean Frank,” Trini mumbles in response.

“Good. Oh! And Trini, you should come with us to the Angel Grove Memorial gala next month. I’m sure Kimberly would love the company.”

“Bapu, I don’t know if black-tie affairs are Trini’s--”

“Just cause it’s black-tie, doesn’t mean she needs to wear a dress.” Mr. Hart cuts Kimberly off and then flashes Trini an all-knowing smile. “Besides, Trini you strike me as more of a smart suit and tie kind of girl.”

Trini can feel a hint of tears start to well up in her eyes as she’s hit with a wave of mix emotions. She’s at a complete and utter loss for words.

_Who are these people?_

_And, most importantly, how are they so innately warm, welcoming, and supportive?_

_Is this how parents are supposed to be? Oozing with love and acceptance?_

“I’d love to go,” Trini manages to reply, attempting to mask the slight quiver in her voice.

“Great. Then it’s settled.”

Kimberly gently takes hold of Trini’s hand and starts to lead her back towards the stairs. “Alright. Enough with the invites, Bapu. We’re gonna go get ready.”

“Okay. You girls have fun tonight,” Mrs. Hart responds with a warm smile. “And Kimmie--”

“I know. Home before midnight.”

“Nice to meet you both,” Trini barely eeks out before being dragged back up the stair by Kimberly.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Trini carefully shuts Kimberly’s bedroom door behind them as Kimberly flops down onto her bed.

“Your parents are--”

“A bit much. I know.” Kimberly huffs out running her hands through her hair in a half attempt to tame her wild locks.

“I was gonna say awesome,” Trini replies with a hint of a smile.

Kimberly reaches up, grabs hold of Trini’s hands and pulls her onto the bed. She plants a loving kiss on Trini’s cheek as her hands snake their way over Trini’s overgrown undercut. “I should really clean this up for you. It’s getting crazy.”

“Now?”

“Why not?”

Trini glances over at the alarm clock on Kimberly’s nightstand. “No time, Princess. We told the boys we’d meet them in fifteen minutes.”

“C’mon. We can be late…”

“Kim…”

“Fine,” Kimberly replies with a pout. “But you’re letting me do it before the gala.”

“Whatever.”

“I think the word you’re looking for is yes.”

Trini shoots Kimberly a playful eye roll. “Yes.”

“And you’re gonna let me cut it shorter.”

“What? No way.”

“Why not?”

“Two words. My mom,” Trini lets out with a bit of a sigh. “She isn’t exactly all open-minded and accepting like your folks.”

“What about your dad?”

“Even worse. But he isn’t around too much to ever even notice.”

“Well, I say fuck them. If you wanna do it, then we’re doing it. Besides, it’ll look soooo good with the outfit I’ve got picked out for you,” Kimberly replies with a devilish smirk as she twirls a finger around a stray lock of Trini’s hair.

“Who says I’m wearin’ what you’ve picked out, Princess?”

“Oh, you will. Trust me.” Kimberly entwines their fingers together and plants a loving kiss on the back of Trini’s hand.

They lay there side by side for a moment, just merely existing in each other’s presence…

_And once again, Trini is hit with the overwhelming desire to freeze time. Just this moment… with Kimberly laying right beside her._

This is what it feels like to be loved by someone, and Trini never wants it to stop.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“One bag of Red Vines. One box of Milk Duds. Two large Dr. Peppers. And a large popcorn with extra butter, please.” Jason does one more quick glance of the candy and then, “Oh! And a bag of Reese's Pieces too.”

Trini shoots Jason a “are you serious” look and lets a light chuckle slip out.

“What? It’s not all for me. I’m splitting it.”

“With Billy?” Trini questions with an all-knowing smirk.

“Yes… and Zack.”

“Riiiight.”

Jason just shakes his head, as the boy behind the counter starts to comply with his monstrous order. “How are things going between you and Kim?”

_What?_

_Trini knows that Jason kinda sorta knows. All of them do to a certain extent, even though Kimberly nor Trini has ever made some official announcement about it._

_But yet, still…_

_Talking about it-- with Jason nonetheless -- is new and slightly foreign._

_It isn’t like Zack where she can just make an off-the-cuff sarcastic remark and then change the subject._

_No. This is Jason. Mr. “I skipped being a teenager and went straight to being a 45-year-old dad”. Jason doesn’t accept sarcastic remarks._

_When Jason asks a question, he not only means it but is looking for an earnest answer in reply._

Trini lets out a bit of a sigh, trying to find her words.

“Trini, I didn’t mean to put you--”

“Nah. It’s all good… Things are good. Kinda still new and all. But good… Like really good.”

“Glad to hear it,” Jason replies as he loads up his arms full of snacks. “It’s always tricky navigating something new. Especially given our extraordinary special circumstances. I’ve found what helps the most is just taking things one step at a time. You’ve got all the time in the world to figure it out. So there’s no need really to rush.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Trini mumbles under her breath with the smallest hint of a smile.

Trini and Jason turn away from the counter and start to walk back towards the theater, snacks in hand when suddenly Trini spots--

A FLASH OF GREEN.

_Fuuuck._

_Trini’s eyes are playing a cruel trick on her. That has to be it. There’s no way that it could be anything else…_

_But her gut says otherwise._

Trini stops dead in her tracks as she feels the goosebumps rise on her arms. Her eyes rapidly scan the surrounding crowd, in a desperate attempt to spot something… anything out of the ordinary.

Jason picks up on Trini’s sudden heightened sense of panic and stops as well. “Trini is everything--”

BAM!

An explosion rings out in the distance from one of the nearby theaters, causing instant and absolute chaos. Herds of screaming people swarm in every direction, all trying to escape the clouds of billowing smoke that is quickly pouring out into the lobby.

Both Jason and Trini exchange look of pure horror as the realization sets up.

“Trini, that’s the theater--”

“I know. C’mon.” Trini grabs hold of Jason’s arm and with a surgical-like precision navigates against the steady stream of fleeing theatergoers.

_Move… Move… Move…_

_Trini screams within the confines of her head at every single person that gets in her way._

_Kimberly’s in there. Her Kimberly…_

_She has to-- No. Scratch that. She NEEDS to get into that theater and now._

_It’s gonna be okay. Just twenty more feet… fifteen… ten… five…_

BAM!

A second, more powerful, explosion detonates to the right of Trini, sending her flying through the air like a human rag doll. She lands against the ground with a mind-numbing thud as boulder-size pieces of debris rain down upon her.

Trini fights to stay alert as she struggles to free herself from the blanket of debris above her, but it’s of little use. She’s only moments away from blacking out.

As her vision starts to blur, her thoughts turn to one thing and one thing only…

_Kimberly._  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little shorter chapter than normal, but promise the next few chapters are going to be longer (and much more action driven).
> 
> As always, really appreciate all of your comments and feedback and please excuse the typos.
> 
> Also, you can find me on tumblr @jessh-d :)
> 
> Enjoy!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I know who’s possessed by Rita.” Trini blurts out, ripping the the verbal bandaid right on off. “It’s Tommy. Tommy Oliver. He’s the one who took our coins. And the one who beat me up the other night. Not Amanda. And I think the one behind the protection shields acting all crazy too.”
> 
> Trini tenses up and shuts her eyes, bracing for Kimberly’s reaction, but… 
> 
> It doesn’t come.  
> \------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
> Trini finally comes clean... but it just might be too late.

“Billy, do you see her?”

“No… Wait. Yes. I think so. She’s under here.”

Trini starts to slowly drift back into consciousness at the sound of Billy’s voice.

“Billy?” Trini manages to weakly croak out.

“Hold on, Trini. We’re going to get you out.”

Trini attempts to move but finds that it’s of little use. She’s pinned down at multiple points of her body. Plus…

_Trini feels weak. Beyond weak. Like everyday, average teenaged girl type of weak._

_A tidal wave of panic laced with fear instantly washes over Trini._

_Why does she feel so weak? What’s wrong with her powers? Where’s her--_

“Fuck,” Trini screams out as a sudden burst of pain radiates down her body followed by a release of pressure. The main piece of concrete that up until this point has been pinning her down, slowly lifts upwards, allowing her to finally take a good look around.

_Complete and utter destruction._

_There are just no other words to describe it._

_Trini can’t seem to recognize anything except for the random traces of semi-charred movie posters and popcorn containers. It’s just an endless sea of smoke, concrete rubble, and debris._

_Did Tommy do this? It had to have been him, right?_

_But there’s no giant monster. No Putties. No sign of even Tommy himself. Then why--_

“Sorry, Trini. Just one more piece. Promise,” Billy reassures her with a nervous smile.

Trini’s eyes rapidly blink as she adjusts to the harsh, almost blinding light. She fixates in on the sight of Billy before her as he struggles to lift the last piece of concrete off of her legs.

_He shouldn’t be struggling._

_Sure, it’s massive. Hell, most people wouldn’t be able to even get that slab to budge an inch, let alone lift it off of the ground..._

_But, still, something isn’t right. He’s struggling too much._

_Trini’s seen Billy fling thousand ton Putties in the air before one-handed._

_No, something is wrong._

_Trini’s hands wildly grope down towards her front, left pocket of her jeans, only to discover a massive, gaping hole where the pocket should be._

_Shit… Shit… Shit…_

_Her power coin is gone._

“Billy, my coin--” Trini squeaks out with a partial cough, attempting to recover her voice.

“I know. Mine is gone too. So is Jason’s, Zack’s, and Kimberly’s.”

With one final grunt of effort, Billy pries the last piece of concrete off of Trini and then offers her a hand, helping her to her feet.

Trini does a quick once-over of her body, testing out each and every one of her limbs for any injuries.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. Just a shit ton of cuts and bruises. You?”

Billy gives a nod in confirmation. “As far as I can tell, I only have a few lacerations. Luckily, we weren’t too close to the blast when it detonated.”

“Where’s everyone--”

“Right here, Crazy Girl.” Zack zig-zags his way through the mounds of debris, looking a bit haggard but, more or less, in one piece. “Just had to free Jase’s ass from the concessions stand. Or what’s left of it.”

“For the record, I wasn’t trapped in the concessions stand.” Jason emerges, following close behind Zack and sporting a noticeable limp. His left leg is caked with a thick layer of blood that appears to be oozing out of a mid-thigh to knee sized gash. “You okay, T?”

“I think so. But where’s…” Trini trails off as Kimberly comes into view.

Kimberly staggers her way towards them, sporting a particularly nasty cut that runs from her left eyebrow all the way up into the recesses of her hair. It’s clear that she’s taken a severe blow, but like the rest, is at least up and moving.

“Kim,” Trini exhales with a mixture of relief and concern as she scrambles to make up the distance between the two of them.

“Hey baby,” Kimberly responds weakly with a slight level of unsteadiness to her voice.

Trini securely wraps her arms around Kimberly, momentarily forgetting about her own injuries, and plants a tender kiss on her cheek. “You okay, Princess?”

Kimberly ever so slightly nods, letting her whole body relax into Trini’s. “I think so… Think I might’ve gotten a concussion from the blast, but otherwise, I'm okay. Everything’s just a bit fuzzy.”

Trini guides Kimberly’s head down to rest in the crux between her head and shoulder and gently strokes her hair.

“I’ve got you,” Trini responds in nothing more than a whisper as she wraps her arms a bit tighter around Kimberly. Even though there’s a thick layer of dirt and blood, she still can smell the distinct aroma of strawberries and wildflowers that she has come to associate with Kimberly and it’s nothing short of comforting.

“So what’s the plan? Cause we can’t do jack shit without our you-know-whats.” Zack makes a circle his thumbs and index fingers, pantomiming the shape of a coin while his eyes cautiously scan their surroundings for anyone who might be within earshot of their conversation. Although the nearest person is a good 100 or so feet away from them, it’s still far from safe to talk freely.

“We need to get to the ship and talk to Big Z. We’re vulnerable without our you-know-whats,” Jason responds, eyeing the nearby pockets crowd as well for anything out of the ordinary.

“Who’s Big… Oh! I’ve got it.” Billy’s eyes grow wide as he catches on to what Jason is trying to say.

“But we can’t enter the ship without our coins, right?” Trini asks Billy.

“Not exactly. No. But I’ve been working on this device with Alpha 5. It’s sorta like a teleporter. We haven’t fully tested it out yet, but in theory, it should allow us to bypass the protective shields and beam ourselves directly to the morphing grid. Or at least whoever’s wearing it.”

Zack excitedly reaches over and plants a sloppy kiss on Billy’s forehead. “Genius! Billy for the save.”

Billy recoils a bit, wiping the saliva off of his head. “Again. It hasn’t been tested. Well, that’s not 100% true. We tested it once with one of the lab rats that I borrowed from Dr. Green, and it sorta worked.”

“Sorta?” Trini questions with a doubtful look.

“The rat made it… But he was missing his tail.”

A sobering silence circles the group as this information sinks in, then--

“Well, we’ve got no other choice.” Jason rubs the back of his neck and then straightens himself up a bit, putting more of his weight on his injured leg. “Where’s the device?”

“At my house.”

“Okay. Then we divide and conquer. Zack, Billy, and I will go to Billy’s house to retrieve the device while Trini--”

“On it.” Trini cuts Jason off, reading his mind. She secures her grip on Kimberly in confirmation.

“What? No, I’m okay. We shouldn’t split up.” Kimberly tenses up in Trini’s arms as the sudden realization of what Jason is suggesting hits her.

“Kim, you took a massive blow to the head.”

“And your leg is split wide open,” Kimberly fires back at Jason, motioning towards his gaping wound. “I’m okay.”

“Kim, please… Let’s just swing by my house? We can at least get a change of clothes. My jeans are one good rip away from beginning cut-offs, and your shirt isn’t much better. We’ll meet back up with them in 30 tops. Promise”

Kimberly lets out a heavy sigh. “Alright.”

“Good.” Trini gives Kimberly a reassuring smile before turning back towards Billy, Zack, and Jason. “30 mins at the cliffs.”

“Aye, Aye, Crazy Girl,” Zack responds as he grabs hold of Jason’s arm and hoists it over his shoulder.

“Zack, I’ve--”

“Quit fightin’ it. You need help, dude.” Zack motions to Billy to do the same on the other side of Jason, allowing for Jason to relieve some of the stress on his injured leg.

Zack and Billy adjust their grips on Jason and then start to help him navigate back through the maze of debris.

They progress a few feet before Jason pauses for a moment and looks back over his shoulder at Trini and Kimberly. “Trini--”

“I know. Be safe.” Trini finishes Jason’s thought with a firm nod in confirmation.

Trini and Kimberly wait for a moment or two in silence, merely watching as Billy, Jason, and Zack disappear from view, then--

“C’mon, Princess. Let’s get out of here.”

Kimberly simply gives Trini’s hand an extra hard squeeze in response, unable to find her words.

As Trini leads Kimberly through the wreckage of debris, a single thought starts to run rampant throughout her head…

_She needs to tell Kimberly everything… before it’s too late._

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Stay awake on me, Princess,” Trini huffs out with a heavy breath of air while giving Kimberly a firm shake in the process. “Just a few more steps.”

_Trini hadn’t accounted for just how long -- or even more importantly how hard -- it would be to travel the few blocks from the Angel Grove theater back to her own house._

_Sure, there was the expected barrage of police and rescue workers to actively avoid. Which naturally meant the occasional ducking into side alleyways or attempting to blend into the ever-growing crowd of onlookers._

_But it was the general lack of super strength that had really thrown Trini for a real loop. Up until now, she hadn’t realized just how much she had grown accustomed to it… and even in some ways, take it for granted._

_If she had had her power coin, then getting home would have been a breeze. Trini would have simply scooped Kimberly up into her arms and raced home at the speed of light without even breaking a sweat._

_But no coin meant no powers… or at least, diminishing powers._

_As Zordon had once explained to them, when Zack had up and accidentally left his coin on top of a city bus, the farther they were from their coins, the weaker -- and more human -- they would become._

_Their powers weren’t finite. No, they could and ebb and flow depending on their overall proximity to their individual coins themselves._

_Like a rechargeable battery, as Billy had put it._

_Trini’s powers weren’t 100% gone, which meant their coins were still nearby… which also meant--_

_No, she’s not going there. Not right now._

_First, she needs to get Kimberly situated within the somewhat safe confines of her room and then she would go about telling her… Telling her everything…_

“I can’t…” Kimberly trails off as she grows limper in Trini’s arms. “I’m just so tired.”

“I know, beautiful. But we’re almost there. Promise.”

Trini manages to nudge her bedroom door open with her leg and then carefully guides Kimberly towards her bed. “Here.”

Kimberly takes a seat down on the bed and immediately attempts to lay down.

“Whoa… No way,” Trini grabs hold of Kimberly’s arms and gently pulls Kimberly back on up into a sitting position. “You need to stay awake, okay?”

“But baby, I’m just so tired…” Kimberly pouts, barely managing to keep her eyes open.

“And that’s why your ass needs to stay awake.” Trini unbuttons her jeans, shimmies her legs free, and then unceremoniously kicks them across the room. “Dormir con una lesión en la cabeza no es bueno.”

“God, I love it when you speak Spanish.”

“I know,” Trini replies with a slight smirk. She reaches for the bottom of Kimberly’s shirt and starts to carefully peel it from her body. “Anything to keep you up, Princess.”

“Trini, we can’t do it right now. We’ve gotta go meet the boys,” Kimberly whines as she raises her arms, allowing Trini to maneuver her shirt up over her head.

Trini can’t help but let a light chuckle slip out at this comment. “Cute, but that’s not why I’m undressing you. We need clean clothes.”

Trini turns back towards her closet and quickly begins to rummage through her clothes. “I think I’ve got an oversized hoodie that might fit...”

Trini trails off as she happens to glance back over her shoulder at Kimberly, who’s taken the opportunity to lay down once again.

_Fuck._

_Trini wants Kimberly awake and alert. No. Scratch that. She NEEDS it._

_She needs Kimberly fully present because what’s she’s about to say is going to be hard enough as is._

Trini moves back towards the bed and once again drags Kimberly upright.

“Just five minutes, baby,” Kimberly mumbles as she attempts to free herself from Trini’s grip.

But Trini isn’t letting go. She squats down in front of Kimberly, locking eyes with her in the process. “Kim, I need to tell you something. Something super important.”

“Let me guess… You love me?” Kimberly replies with a playful smirk.

“No… Well, yes. But that’s not it. I… I…” Trini trails off as she gets lost within the chocolate brown abysses that are Kimberly’s eyes

_God, those eyes…_

_Those eyes that in a matter of seconds are going to forever look at her differently…_

_Panic._

_It creeps in, invading every inch of her body. Constricting… Overwhelming…_

_Trini can’t breathe._

_Yes, her lungs are working. Somewhere deep within the confines of her mind, she knows it to be true, and yet…_

_She can’t breathe._

Kimberly suddenly picks up on Trini’s panic-induced state and in a blink of an eye, pulls herself together. She wraps her hands around Trini’s as her eyes search Trini’s face for some sort of explanation. “Baby? What is it?”

“I… I… Oh god, I’ve fucked up… Kim, I’ve like really fucked up…” Trini spurted out the words, in between gasps of air.

“Breathe, baby. Breathe.”

_But Trini can’t breathe._

_She just can’t…_

_The panic is not only all-encompassing but is a mere second away from swallowing her whole._

Suddenly, Trini feels Kimberly’s hand upon her chest, right above her heart.

“Just concentrate on my voice. Okay, baby? Nothing else,” Kimberly states with a calm, steady authority as if her concussion is non-existent. “Now tell me something you can feel.”

“Your hand.”

“Good, baby. Tell me more.”

“It’s… It’s over my heart and moving in sync with my chest,” Trini replies with a deep exhale as the overwhelming sense of panic starts to ebb.

“Exactly.” Kimberly reaches out and ever so gently cups Trini’s chin with her other free hand. “There you go. You know you can tell me any--”

“I know who’s possessed by Rita.” Trini blurts out, ripping the verbal bandaid right on off. “It’s Tommy. Tommy Oliver. He’s the one who took our coins. And the one who beat me up the other night. Not Amanda. And I think the one behind the protection shields acting all crazy too.”

Trini tenses up and shuts her eyes, bracing for Kimberly’s reaction, but…

It doesn’t come.

There’s only silence. Skin-crawling silence…

“Please say something,” Trini whispers, unable to bring herself to open her eyes.

But still… Only silence.

Time seems to stand still as Trini waits for something… anything.

Then, just when she can’t seem to take another single, solitary moment of the nothingness, finally--

“How long?”

Trini’s eye pop back open takes her first good look at Kimberly and--

_Her heart shatters._

_There staring back at Trini is nothing more than confusion laced with utter betrayal._

“Kim, I…”

“How long, Trini?” Kimberly questions with a sudden level of coldness in her voice.

“At least a month.”

And with this confession, Trini feels Kimberly’s hands harshly recoil from hers.

“Trini, how could you not say anything? You let us… You let me believe that--”

“TRINITY MARIA GOMEZ!”

_Fuuuck._

_Double fuuuck… No. Scratch that. Fuuuck to the power of infinity._

_Suddenly, the sobering reality of how Trini and Kimberly must look comes crashing down upon Trini._

_Trini is there, on her knees right before a topless Kimberly, in nothing but a t-shirt and her boyshort underwear._

_And there’s no explanation for it… at least none that her mother would ever believe._

_No. This is bad… So fuuucking bad._

“I… I… should go,” Kimberly stumbles upon her words as she hastily hops off of the bed and scrambles to make her way out of the room, all the while actively avoiding eye contact with Mrs. Gomez.

“Kim, wait--” Trini goes to chase after Kimberly, when suddenly--

CRACK.

Mrs. Gomez slaps Trini right across the face.

Trini freezes in her tracks as her hand wanders upwards towards her cheek in utter disbelief.

“Mamí, I…” Trini voice quivers as she fiercely fights back the tidal wave of tears that are seconds away from spilling forth from her eyes.

“Get out.”

“What?”

“GET OUT OF MY HOUSE,” June growls with a level of hatred and disgust that is utterly incomprehensible to Trini.

_Sure, her mom has been upset with her before. Hell, lately, it seems to be the status quo with the two of them…_

_But this feels distinctly different. This moment feels as if Trini has hit the point of no return._

_That in this one singular moment, the entirety of her relationship with her mother has been forever erased from existence._

_That Trini is, in fact, suddenly nothing more than absolute stranger to her mother…_

_There’s no coming back from this._

“Mamí, please,” Trini begs in nothing more than a strangled whisper. The tears now freely from her eyes, cutting two defined streaks down her dirt-smudged face.

“Now!”

_And with that single word, all familial ties are seemingly served._

_Trini is entirely on her own._

Trini swallows hard, quickly wiping her tears away with the backs of her hands, and in less than a blink of an eye, pulls herself together.

She snatches up a pair of nearby jeans, her favorite gray beanie, and a yellow hoodie and without another moment’s hesitation, heads out of her bedroom.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Trini bolts out of her front door and doesn’t stop running. She needs to put distance between herself and what she used to consider her home.

It isn’t until Trini is three blocks away, does she finally even pause for a moment to catch her breath.

BUZZ.

BUZZ.

BUZZ.

Trini reaches into her back pocket and pulls out her cell phone. A picture of Jason with his arms goofily draped around Billy’s shoulder appears on the screen.

Trini clicks the answer button and then holds the phone up to her ear. “Hey.”

“We just got to the cliffs. Where are you guys? You close? How Kim?” Jason’s voice echoes out through the phone.

The mere mention of Kim’s name hits Trini like a sucker punch to the gut.

_Oh god… Kimberly._

“Something sorta happened. My mom walked in on Kim and I…, and she freaked out. Kim took off.”

“Kim’s not with you?” The underlying level of concern to Jason’s voice is nothing short of unsettling.

“No.”

“Where is she?”

“I dunno…”

“Okay. Why don’t you come meet us here and then we can--”

“I’ll find her.”

“Trini--”

“I said I’ll find her.” Trini doesn’t wait for a response. She swipes the screen and then shoves her phone back into her pocket.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Trini isn’t even halfway up Kimberly’s driveway before she’s hit with the sickening sensation that something is wrong… very, very wrong.

The front door has been ripped clean off of its hinges and haphazardly tossed aside onto the nearby porch swing.

_Shit… Shit… Shit…_

Trini sprints the rest of the way towards the house and then takes the front steps two at a time, willing her body to move faster. She attempts to mentally brace herself for what’s she’s about to walk in on, but it doesn’t matter.

Right as Trini’s about to take her first step inside, she notices--

THICK STREAKS OF BLOOD that cover almost every inch of the surrounding door frame and the floor below. The streaks are painted about in erratic patterns as if someone -- someone who happened to be badly bleeding at the time -- was dragged out of there against their own will.

“Kim!” Trini frantically screams out into the darkness of the house before her.

But there’s no reply.

Trini attempts to will her body to start moving again, and that’s when she sees it.

Like a cherry, on some sadistic sundae, someone has scrawled out a message within the blood.

**I told you not to say anything, Yellow...**

Trini stumbles backward in complete and utter shock as the true meaning of the words before her entirely sink in.

_Tommy has Kimberly… and it’s all her fault._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few quick things:
> 
> A. THANK YOU for all of your kudos and comments! It's beyond humbling and can't begin to express how much I truly enjoy hearing your thoughts on each and every chapter.
> 
> B. Decided to post this up early since I somehow managed to finish it in record time and didn't want to leave everyone hanging given the general response to last week's chapter.
> 
> C. PLEASE DON'T SHOOT ME... Yes, it's another semi-cliffhanger. But, rest assured, as I have mentioned before in the comments section, I firmly don't believe in creating anything that perpetuates the "Bury Your Gays" trope... hint, hint ;)
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> And you can find me on tumblr @jessh-d


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Billy? Billy are you--”
> 
> “Hey! What are you doing in… Stop! Don’t touch that! You’re not supposed to… Tommy, please don’t…”
> 
> Once again, a moment of skin crawling static and then--
> 
> BANG.
> 
> Sounds of an explosion rings out over the walkie talkie followed by absolute and utter silence.
> 
> “BILLY!” Jason frantically screams into the walkie talkie with a level of desperation to his voice that’s nothing short of unsettling.
> 
> “Shit. Is Tommy--” But Zack doesn’t have time to finish his sentence.
> 
> Jason drops the walkie talkie and without another moment’s hesitation, taking a running leap right off the cliff, splashing down seconds later into the pool below.  
> \-------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
> Trini finally comes clean to the boys and gets a game plan together on just how they are going to go about rescuing Kimberly.

 

_ Two words play on a neverending loop at full blast within the confines Trini’s head… _

_ Run faster. _

_ Trini’s still not 100% sure just how she managed to snap herself out of her semi-paralyzed like state. One moment she was standing on Kimberly’s front porch, staring at the message Tommy had scrawled out for her in blood, and the next she was merely running, with no real recollection all that had transpired between those two moments.   _

_ Trini’s already sore muscles burn with a fiery sensation that deepens with each and every step that she takes. Her lungs beg for more air as she zig-zags her way through the dense brush. And yet, Trini refuses to slow down.  _

_ Must run faster. _

_ God, how Trini would kill to be at full strength right about now. Then, she could really move… Then, she wouldn’t have to feel the crippling desperation that is crashing down upon her…  _

_ It could be worse. Her powers could be completely gone, and she would be moving even slower than she is now. But still…  _

BUZZ.

BUZZ.

BUZZ.

Trini phone goes off once again in her back pocket. It has been vibrating consistently every 30 seconds or so. Ever since she took off from Kimberly’s house and yet she’s refused to answer it. Trini doesn’t need to. She knows exactly who’s calling.

“Jesus. I’m coming,” Trini yells out in frustration into the woods and picks up her pace. 

As she does, another thought invades her mind. One that she’s been actively avoiding ever since her horrific discovery on the porch…

_ What if Tommy has already broken into the ship? _

_ What if he has gotten to the other as well?  _

_ What if she isn’t fast enough? _

_ What if Kimberly is-- _

“No,” Trini states out loud, cutting off her own thoughts with a firm shake of her head. 

With a sudden burst of determination, Trini pushes her body even harder than ever before, completely disregarding any pain that she happens to be feeling at that very moment.

_ Nothing matters… Nothing except getting to Zack, Billy, and Jason as fast as humanly possible. _

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Yo! Pick...Up...Your...Phone!” Zack shouts into a cell phone with a rare frustrated tone to his voice. He paces back and forth at the edge of the cliff, while Jason looks on from a nearby boulder.

“She’s not going to answer,” Jason responds, half-distracted by the walkie-talkie within his hands. He mindlessly tosses it, eyes glued to the speaker as if he can get it to come to life if he just stares at it long enough.

Zack chucks the phone down on the ground, and instantly a sickening CRACK reverberates all around them causing both Zack and Jason to recoil.

“My phone…” Jason trails off with a heavy sigh. He momentarily closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose with his free hand. It’s taking every ounce of patience Jason has left to remain calm.

“Sorry dude. I didn’t mean to--” Zack starts to apologize but is quickly cut off by the sounds of rustling from the surrounding trees. 

Both Zack and Jason immediately tense up, taking a bit of a defensive stance, not sure who -- or what -- is about to emerge before them. 

The rustling grows louder… and louder… and then--

THUD.

Trini bursts forth from the dense brush and instantly collapses down onto her hands and knees. She wheezes in and out at an irregular pace, trying to suck in as much air as humanly possible. Trini appears to be a mere second away from her lungs entirely up and giving up on her.

“Trini!” Zack springs forth with a mixture of concern and relief. He immediately squats down and helps her up to her feet. “Where’d the hell you’ve been?”

“I’ve… I’ve…” Trini desperately tries to catch her breath, but it’s of little use. She has pushed her body to its absolute limits.

“C’mon. Breathe, Crazy Girl.” 

“Where’s Kim?” Jason asks frantically scanning the treeline with the clear expectation that she will appear at any moment. 

“He… Took… Her…” Trini struggles to reply, unable to look either Zack nor Jason in the eyes. 

“Someone took Kim?! Who? Trini, what you--”

“Tommy Oliver. He’s the one possessed by Rita.”

“Who’s Tommy?” Zack questions trying to follow along. He looks over at Jason, waiting for him to fill in the blanks.

“He’s the guy in our English class. The one that has the ponytail.”

“Sits in the back and is always wearing a letterman jacket?” 

“Yup. That’s Tommy.” Jason pushes himself up off of the boulder and carefully limps over to join Zack and Trini. “Trini, how do you know it’s him? Sure, he’s a bit of a jerk at times, but what would give you the impression that he’s the one under Rita’s control?”

Trini bites down on her bottom lip and takes a moment, contemplating what to say next. Then--

“Because he's the one who beat me up the other night. I know I should've told you guys, but he threatened to kill Kim if I did. And now he has her and…” Trini trails off as her voice starts to quiver. She glanced down at her hands, studying the dried streaks of blood on them.

_ Kimberly’s blood. _

_ Oh god, what if it’s too late? _

Suddenly, Trini feels two strong familiar arms engulf her and immediately knows it’s Zack. And at that very moment, she simply breaks.

“I’m so sorry,” Trini sobs into the confines of Zack’s t-shirt. Her tears rain down at an uncontrollable rate as she lets herself fall apart in his arm.

“Shh… It’s gonna be okay. Kim’s gonna be just fine.” Zack gently strokes Trini’s hair with complete reassurance. “I would’ve totally done the same if he’d come after my mom.”

“Really?” Trini takes a momentary breather and studies Zack’s for any trace of insincerity. But there’s nothing there but compassion.

“Trini, Zack’s right. We’d all would’ve made the same choice. Especially given the circumstances,” Jason chimes in laying his hand down Trini’s back. He rubs large, comforting circles, while Zack continues just to hold her in his arms.

_ Oh god, how she loves these two boys.  _

_ Trini never in a million years thought she’d ever been the type to have such close friends and yet somehow here she is sandwiched between two people she considers to be her brothers, and there’s no other place she rather be. _

_ They’re more than just her fellow rangers. They’re her family… The only real family she’s got. _

“I'm pretty sure he’s got our coins too,” Trini mumbles while wiping her eyes on Zack's t-shirt.

“It’s ok. We’ve got one better.” Zack produces a cheesy grin and then motions with his head towards the walkie-talkie in Jason’s hand. “We’ve got Billy.”

It suddenly hits Trini that Billy is mysteriously absent from the cliff. “Wait. Where’s Billy?”

“Man, you missed it. It was freakin’ awesome. He just pressed a button and then up and disappeared into thin air. Kinda like they did in those Star Trek movies but without the strange ass noises.”

“Did he make it? Is he in one piece?” Trini turns towards Jason and catches a look of real concern buried within the two deep blue abysses of his eyes. 

Jason gives a light shrug of his shoulders, in an attempt to downplay his emotions. “No word yet. He took a walkie so that he could  contact us but so far nothing.”

Trini reaches out and gives Jason’s hand an all-knowing, light squeeze. “He’s got this. It’s Billy.”

“I know, I just--”

CRACKLE.

The walkie-talkie suddenly springs to life with a steady stream of static. 

“Billy? Billy, you there?” Jason desperately calls into the walkie-talkie. He holds onto it with a death-like grip, as if it’s his lifeline.

“Jason?... Jason? Is that you?” Billy’s voice echoes back. 

“Yes! It’s me. I’m here. Are you okay? Do you have all of your limbs?”

“I believe so. Yes. Yes, I’m okay. Feel a tad strange. Like the pins and needles sensation. You know, when you sleep on your arm the wrong way and it goes all numb, and then you have to--”  

“Billy,” Jason gently cuts him off. 

“Right. Yes. Sorry. I’m all good. Working with Alpha 5 now to temporarily bring down the protection shields so you guys can enter the ship.”

“Okay. Great. Listen, Billy, we need you to do something else. Can you tell Zordon and Alpha 5 to do a scan on all of Angel Grove and the surrounding area for someone named Tommy Oliver.”

“Tommy? Oh, I know him. He’s in my 5th-period Biology--”

“Yes. That Tommy. Billy, we need to locate him asap. We think he’s the one that’s being possessed by Rita.”

“Sure, let me just…” Billy abruptly trails off into an uncomfortable static, leaving Trini, Zack, and Jason helplessly staring at the walkie-talkie.

“Billy? Billy are you--”

“Hey! What are you doing in… Stop! Don’t touch that! You’re not supposed to… Tommy, please don’t…” 

Once again, a moment of skin crawling static and then--

BANG.

Sounds of an explosion rings out over the walkie-talkie followed by absolute and utter silence. 

“BILLY!” Jason frantically screams into the walkie-talkie with a level of desperation to his voice that’s nothing short of unsettling.

“Shit. Is Tommy--” But Zack doesn’t have time to finish his sentence.

Jason drops the walkie-talkie and without another moment’s hesitation, taking a running leap right off the cliff, splashing down seconds later into the pool below.

“Whoa! He’s freakin’ crazier than you! What if we can’t get through?” Zack exclaims in complete shock, staring at the edge of the cliff, with slight disbelief of what Jason just did.

_ But Trini isn’t shocked. No, Not at all. She understands precisely why Jason jumped.  _

_ Hell, she’s about to do the same as well. She’s about to throw herself over the side of a cliff -- possibly to her death -- all because of two words… _

_ Kimberly Hart. _

“C’mon,” Trini grabs Zack by the arm, and the two follow suit, right off the side of the cliff.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

_ Twenty more feet… fifteen… ten… five… _

_ Trini’s lungs burn in utter desperation. She needs air and now. Only a few more inches. Just a few more…  _

_ Trini pushes her body to move faster through the water. It’s never been this hard before, but then again, she’s never done this swim without her powers fully intact. _

_ God, does she wish she had her power coin right about now. _

Trini’s fingers graze the surface and then--

THUD.

Trini hits the floor with at a mind-numbing force and instantly rolls over to the right as Zack drops down right beside her. The two take a moment to recompose themselves as they suck in breath after breath of air. 

“Fuck. That was hard.” Zack shakes the water out of his hair and looks over at Trini, who’s the in the process of doing the same. “But yay, we’re alive.”

But Trini doesn’t respond. She quickly scans the surrounding entranceway for any sign of Jason -- or anyone else -- and then starts to move towards the morphing grid.

“Yo! Jason?” Zack calls out, voice echoing throughout the metallic lined hallway. 

“Shh,” Trini snaps back, hitting Zack in the arm. “Let's just announce Tommy exactly where we are.”

“You think he’s still here?”

“Who the hell knows, but--”

“In here! I’m in here!” Jason's voice cuts through the faint sounds of electrical sounds and hisses. 

Both Trini and Zack instantly break into a quick jog, heading straight towards the sound of Jason’s voice. They round the corner to the morphing grid and suddenly come to a crashing halt.

The once pristine room is now a chaotic mess of broken metal, frayed, exposed wires, pockets of fire, and clouds of smokes. 

But what really stands out is that the floor to ceiling wall, which is usually pulsating with constant activity, is completely and utterly dark. 

Zordon is nowhere to be found.

_ Shit… Shit… Shit… _

_ Where the hell is Zordon? Zordon can’t be gone. Not now. Not when Tommy is still at large with Kimberly. _

_ What the hell are they supposed to do now? No coins. No Zordon. _

_ What if-- _

“Master Trini!  Master Zack! Thank goodness, you’re here!” Alpha 5 exclaims as he races around the room, attempting to put out the random electrical fires the best that he can. “Master Jason needs help.”

And it is with these words, that Trini snaps out of her thoughts and suddenly spots Jason.

Jason is tucked away in the far corner of the room, in a pocket of space that’s semi-clear of fire and debris, passionately cradling Billy in his arms. He alternates between whispering words in Billy’s ear and planting tender kisses on his forehead as two streams of tears steadily fall down his cheeks.

_ Please god, not again. Please… Please… Please…  _

Trini and Zack cautiously make their way over to Jason, neither one, not 100% sure what exactly to do or say at the moment. 

“Is he…” Trini trails off, almost too terrified to finish her own sentence.

Jason looks up at Trini and Zack and gives a slight shake of his head. “He’s okay. He’s just--” 

Billy lets out a heavy cough as he regains consciousness. His eyes flutter open, and a small smile crawls across his face as he catches sight of Jason, Zack, and Trini. “Oh, hi guys.”

Jason barks a hearty laugh of relief and immediately goes about wiping his tears away. “Hey, you.”

“Dude, what the hell happened?” Zack blurts out. “It looks like a freakin bomb or something went off in here.”

“That’s because one did.” Billy struggles a bit to push himself up, and Jason instantaneously springs into action. 

Jason ever so carefully, helps Billy up into a sitting position as if the slightest of movements will break him. “Easy. I’ve got you.”

“Wait. Tommy set off a bomb?!” Trini questions as she desperately tries to remain calm. 

“Yes… No… Well, not exactly. It was more like an electromagnetic pulse encased within a bomb. It’s something that I’ve been working on ever since we found out that Rita was back. Given that she can manipulate metal elements, there’s a strong likelihood that her core DNA is comprised of it as well. So, in theory, if someone is possessed by Rita, then they will most likely have those metal elements residing within their DNA too. Setting off an electromagnetic pulse in a close enough radius, they should create enough of a disruption to separate the two entities from each other. And the bomb… well, that’s meant to knock the person out just in case it doesn’t fully work.  I triggered the sequence that armed it right before Tommy showed up and then he auto detonated it by stepping near one of the morphing grid pads. I’m not sure if it worked or not, though, given that knocked out by the blast. It might need to be stronger. Or closer...” Billy rambles at a rapid-fire pace, almost unable to spit the words out fast enough. 

Zack, Jason, and Trini exchange looks of pure and utter confusion. 

“Okay. So let me get this straight. To separate Rita from Tommy, we need to get super close to him and then set off another one of those pulse things?” Trini runs her hairs through her hair as she tries to piece together what Billy is saying.

Billy gives an enthusiastic nod in response. “Exactly.”

“Great. Just one problem. We don’t know where the hell he is. He could be freakin’ anywhere by now.”

“But we do.”

“Billy, we’re not following you. How do we--” Jason trails off with a gentle verbal nudge.

“Oh right, sorry.” Billy glances over his shoulder at the frazzled robot. “Alpha 5. Can you pull up the map of Angel Grove?” 

“Yes, Master Billy,” Alpha 5 chirps back. He pauses for a brief moment, and then the wall lights up with a massive heat map. 

“Whoa. Is that the whole town?” Zack exclaims taking a step closer towards the wall in slight awe.

“Yup. And you see that crimson red marker there. Towards the upper right-hand side. That’s Tommy.” 

“I don’t…” Trini stares at the wall, eyes locked on the red marker.

“I laced the bomb with an intensifying heat residue.” 

“You’re a genius.” Jason plants a light but a meaningful kiss on Billy’s forehead as a smile crawls across his face. 

Billy instantly blushes and gives a timid shrug of his shoulders, not entirely comfortable with the sudden public display of affection. “I can’t take full credit for the idea. I got it from an X-Men. Issue #432. The one where Professor X is trapped in an underground lair by Magneto and--”

“Billy.” 

“Right. Yes. Anyways. We should be able to track Tommy down to the exact GPS coordinates as long as he stays within the confines of Angel Grove.”

Trini moves towards the wall as well, merely watching the crimson red marker erratically move throughout the map. After a moment or two, the red marker suddenly stops moving.” 

“He’s at the north mountain.” Trini motions towards the marker on the map for Jason, Billy, and Zack. “Do we have another electromagnetic thing?”

“Yes, but--”

“Yes, but what? Do we have it or not?”

“Yes, but it doesn’t have remote detonation. So in order to set it off--”

“Someone would have to get close enough to Tommy and then trip it manually.”

“Right.” Billy nods his head. He starts to open his mouth again but stops himself before any more words come out. He seems to be contemplating exactly how to phrase his next, next thought.

“What else, Billy?”

“There’s a strong likelihood, especially given our weakened powers, that being that close to the pulse when it detonates…” Billy trails off unable to finish his sentence, let alone look Trini in the eyes.

But Billy doesn’t need to. Trini already knows what he’s trying to say. 

“It will kill me.”

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Trini?”

Trini splashes a handful of water on her face from the wash basin and then with a heavy sigh looks up into the mirror in front of her.

There in the reflection of the mirror before her, stands Jason. He lingers in the doorway of the ship’s bunker room, staring back at her, but unable to bring himself to actually enter. He knows better.

“Don’t.” Trini grabs a nearby towel and attempts to wipe the smudges of dirt and dried blood away. 

“Trini we need to talk about this.”

“No. We don’t,” Trini fires back with an underlying growl to her voice. She focuses all of her attention on a singular spot of dried blood on her forehead and goes about scrubbing with an oddly intense determination. 

If she can just scrub clean the blood… all of the blood… then maybe…

Deep down inside, in the dark recesses of Trini’s brain, she knows better. She knows that it isn’t about the spot. Or how clean she can get her face. 

_ It’s about what’s potentially to come.   _

_ Yes, Trini’s mind’s made up. Hell, there wasn’t even a decision really to make, but still… _

_ Still, the fear of the unknown is there. Lingering just beneath the surface of her thoughts. _

_ What if she can’t-- _

 

Suddenly, Trini feels a hand falls upon hers and gently stops her from scrubbing. She closes her eyes for the briefest of seconds and swallows back the tears that are beginning to brim in her eye.

“I love her,” Trini whispers with a slight quiver. She knows Jason is standing right there beside her, but yet can’t bring herself to open her eyes. If Trini does, then the tears will come.

“I know.”

“If it was Billy--”

“I’d do the same. In a heartbeat.” Jason wraps his arms around Trini tiny frame and gives her reassuring squeeze. 

They stand there in the silence for a moment, just simplifying existing with one another. Then--

“What if she’s...” Trini trails off unable to find the rest of her words. 

“She’s not. You and I both know that. If she was, we would’ve felt it.”

Trini gives the nod in response, followed by another hard swallow. It’s taking every last ounce of strength she has left not to just break down right there in front of Jason.

Jason gives her one more brotherly squeeze for good measure and then plants a tender kiss on her cheek. “Going to go check in on Zack and Billy. See in you there?”

“Yeah. I’ll be there in a minute.”

With that Jason, walks back out of the room, leaving Trini standing there, alone with just her thoughts.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

They had been over the plan at least ten times -- if not fifteen -- back on the ship, but for some odd reason, now standing here, at the entrance of an unmarked tunnel on the north side of the mountain, Trini’s mind was blanking on what needed to be done next.

“Tell it to me again.”

“Trini…” Zack whines giving her a bit of an eye roll in the process. 

“Again Zack.”

“We go in there. I locate Kimberly while you distract Tommy, and then I teleport all of our asses back to Billy and Jason on the ship.”

Trini shoots Zack a look upon these words. She knows what he’s implying.

“Zack…”

“Jesus. Okay… Okay… I teleport Kim’s and my asses back to the ship.”

Trini gives him a nod of approval. “Better.”

“You know you don’t have to do this, Crazy Girl. I could wear the--”

“No,” Trini cuts him off a new found resolve. 

_ Trini mind’s already made up… it has been since the very first moment that she laid eyes on Kimberly. _

_ There isn’t anything in the world she wouldn’t do for that girl… including face the possibility of death head-on. _

“C’mon. Let’s get this show on the road.”

With those words, Trini wills her legs to move forward straight into the mouth of the cavern before them… straight into her potential doom.     
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few quick things to call out:
> 
> 1\. FAIR WARNING: I haven't done a real thorough edit of this chapter yet. So, it's probably super clunky and full of typos. Wanted, though, to get it up for you guys since it's Friday.
> 
> 2\. Might have noticed that I updated the tags. There's some light Cranscott throughout this chapter... I love the two of them and couldn't help myself.
> 
> 3\. Also updated the chapter count. One more chapter to go after this one.
> 
> As always, THANK YOU in advance for all of your amazing comments / feedback. It's beyond appreciated! 
> 
> You can also find me on tumblr @jessh-d


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trini juts her hand deep into the collar of her shirt and fishes out a small electronic device from a chain around her neck. She flips open the safety latch and activates it. The device instantly comes to life, emitting a glowing blue light on the surrounding areas of her shirt. 
> 
> Trini hovers her finger over the trigger button as she watches Tommy race forward.
> 
> 5...4...3...2...  
> \----------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
> Trini finally battle Tommy and the aftermath that follows.

Chapter 12

“Any last words?” 

Trini stares up at Tommy’s icy, emerald eyes as she feels his hands wrap even tighter around her throat. 

“Yeah.” Trini makes a quick shift of her hips, freeing up one of her legs and then swiftly brings her knee upwards with as much force as she can humanly muster, delivering a semi-deadly blow to Tommy’s groin. “Fuck off.”

Tommy instantly releases his grip on Trini’s neck and rolls over onto his side, curling himself up into a ball as the severe aftershock of the blow washes over him. 

Trini seizes the opportunity to scramble back up onto her feet and immediately places a bit of room between herself and Tommy. 

“You bitch.” Tommy spats out in a venomous, angry growl as he slowly rises up, still not 100% recovered from the blow. “You’ll pay for that.”

“I’d like to see ya try, Asswipe,” Trini fires back, flashing one of her signature cocky smirks.

_ Trini knows she’s playing with fire, but it’s the only way... The only way she knows how to do what she needs to do. _

_ She has to get closer to Tommy without getting herself pinned down in the process. A seemingly impossible task when she lacks not only the ability to tap into her body armor but also has barely any superhuman strength left.  _

_ But it’s the only way she’ll have even the remotest of a chance of surviving the blast. _

“You know, I’m really going enjoy killing you.” 

“And I’m really gonna enjoy kickin’ your ass. Now we gonna fight, or are we just gonna stand here and insult each other? Cause for some big, evil mastermind, you really--” 

_ Bingo.  _

“Aaaaah!” Tommy screams out as he charges towards Trini at full force. 

Trini juts her hand deep into the collar of her shirt and fishes out a small electronic device from a chain around her neck. She flips open the safety latch and activates it. The device instantly comes to life, emitting a glowing blue aura on the surrounding areas of her shirt. 

Trini hovers her finger over the trigger button as she watches Tommy race forward.

_ 5...4...3...2...  _

BAM.

Tommy plows into Trini a mere millisecond too soon, send both her and the device flying.

Trini hits the ground with a mind-numbing THUD as her head ricochets against a small pile of rocks. A steady stream of blood starts to flow freely from the point of impact on the scalp, making its way down the side of her face. 

_ Shit...Shit...Shit...  _

_ The device. Where’ the freakin’ device?  _

_ Gotta find the device before it’s too-- _

_ CRACK. _

A sickening, white-hot pain suddenly shoots down the length of Trini’s right arm as she feels her humerus bone snap in two under the weight of Tommy’s foot. 

“Going somewhere?” Tommy asks with an underlying devilish glee to his voice. He presses down his foot even harder on Trini’s arm, grinding in it in the process.

“You wish,” Trini manages to spit out through gritted teeth as she fights back the tears with every last ounce of strength that she has left within her. 

_ Trini refuses to cry. Even if Tommy grounds her broken bones down into nothing but splintery shards, she won’t cry.  _

_ She won’t give him that satisfaction. No. Scratch that. She flat out refuses. _

_ Even if this is indeed it. Trini will go down in the same way that she’s spent the majority of her life… fighting.  _

Trini glances up at Tommy’s towering body looming above her, and suddenly she notices--

THE POWER COINS.

Or at least the outline what appears to be the coins. Haphazardly tucked away in Tommy’s inner coat pocket.

Trini looks closer and swears she can see the faint glow of yellow pulsate through the thin lining of the coat pocket. And that’s all the motivation she needs.

With one swift motion, Trini wrenches her free arm upwards, dislocating her other-- already broken-- arm in the process grabs hold of the edge of Tommy’s inner coat pocket and rips it open. 

Thrown off by the sudden move, Tommy stumbles backward, releasing his foot from Trini’s arm. 

All of the power coins -- including the green one -- spill out from the confines of his coat, randomly scatting amongst the rubble on the floor below.

“What the--” 

But before Tommy even has time to finish his sentence, let alone act, Trini scrambles over to the yellow power coin, grabbing it for dear life.

And suddenly--

_ Strength.  _

_ Trini can feel the raw, unfiltered energy flow through her veins and god, does it feel amazing. _

_ The energy works its way towards her injured arm, and like a bolt of lightning, jump starts the healing process.   _

_ This might not be the end after all. _

Trini slowly rises to her feet, locks eyes with Tommy, and without even a hint of a flinch, grabs hold of her injured arm and pops it back into place. “You were sayin’?”

“Little Yellow found her coin again. So now what? You’re going to go run off to your Rangers and your precious Zordon?” Tommy regains his footing, but there’s a new unsteadiness to his voice.  A slight twinge of unsureness that wasn’t there before.

A small smirk spreads across Trini’s lips as the realization sinks in--

_ She has the upper hand. _

_ Yes, Trini still doesn’t have a clear way out. Or the--  _

A flicker of faint blue light catches the corner of Trini’s eye. The same exact light that had sprung to life when she had activated the device. 

Trini whips her head in the direction of the light and instantly spots the device. It’s half buried under a pile of rubble, but it’s still pulsating.  

_ Sweet fuckin’ Jesus… yes! _

Trini’s eyes dart back to Tommy and is hit with the sudden, gut-churning realization that--

He’s seen the device as well.

Without another moment's hesitation, Trini throws herself in the general direction of the device, falling into a full body slide.

Tommy follows suit, throwing himself at the device as well, only a mere fingertips behind Trini.

_ Shit… Shit… Shit… _

Trini pushes her hand to stretch out as far as humanly possible, as a steady stream of rocks and debris cut into every ounce of her flesh. 

_ C’mon… C’mon… C’mon… _

_ Just a few more inches… _

Trini’s fingers connect with the edge of the device and instantaneously wrap themselves around it with a death-like grip. Her thumb moves into position, right over the trigger and then with a hard, swallow of determination--

She pushes the button.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

_ Darkness. _

Complete and utter darkness.

_ But this darkness isn’t death. Not like Trini would know what that’s like… Billy maybe? But no, not her. _

_ No, this darkness is more like a really dark pair of sunglasses. Or like their-- _

Trini’s hands grope upwards towards her face, only to serendipitously discover that it’s covered by the visor of her suit. 

_ Holy shit… She’s in her suit.  _

_ She’s alive and in her suit. It’s nothing short of a fuckin’ miracle. _

_ Alive… _

Trini lets out a long sigh of relief as her armor slowly dissipated back into her skin. She pushes herself up off of the ground, getting her first good look at her surroundings.

_ Random clouds of debris-laden smoke. Check. Even more mountainous piles of rubble. Check. Blackened char marks outlining the radius of the blast. Check. _

_ But one thing’s clearly missing… _

_ There’s no body. _

“What the fuck?” Trini whispers to herself as she does a quick 360. There’s no traces or signs whatsoever of where Tommy could’ve gone to. 

No footprints. No trails of blood. Nothing.

Trini cautiously takes a step forward, with the intent to investigate further, but then comes to a sudden halt. 

There in the dead center of the blast radius sits--

THE GREEN POWER COIN.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Master Trini! Master Trini! You’re alive!” Alpha 5 chirps with unabashed excitement as he races across the morphing grid to greet Trini.

Trini slowly makes her way into the room, dripping wet from the swim and now sporting a makeshift sling around her injured arm. Even with her powers fully restored, she still looks pretty rough around the edges with a wide array of cuts and bruises peppering her body.  

Billy, Jason, and Zack immediately all look up towards the entrance way, and matching expressions of relief mixed with utter joy spread across their faces. Each one appears to have aged a decade-- if not more -- over the last 48hrs.

“What? Thought you wouldn’t see me again?” Trini produces a cocky smirk in an attempt to lighten up the situation. 

The three boys rush towards Trini at full force, unable to contain themselves.

“Crazy Girl!” Zack scoops Trini up into his arms, slightly oblivious to her injured, and gives her a bone-crushing squeeze.

“Jesus. Good to see you too, dude. But easy,” Trini replies through semi-gritted teeth as she winces in pain. “Still not 100%.”

Zack immediately eases up his death grip on Trini. “Sorry. It’s just…”

“I know.” Trini gives Zack an all-knowing look and a warm smile. 

“God, it’s so good to see you,” Jason says while taking his turn to hug Trini. 

“You too, man.”

“How’d you do it?” Billy eagerly asks unable to hold back his curiosity any longer.

“Well for starters, this helped.” Trini digs into her pocket and pulls out her yellow power coin. “I was able to steal it back from Tommy before setting off the device. My armor saved my ass from the blast.”

“How about the rest of--” Billy starts to ask, but before he can even finish his sentence, Trini produces the rest of the power coins.

“Come to Papa,” Zack jokingly exclaims as Trini tosses each one of them their coins. 

“And there’s this,” Trini carefully pulls out the green power coin and holds it up for the others to see. 

“Dude... There’s another one?” 

“Yeah. Tommy had it. But guessing it had something to do with Rita.”

Jason steps forward to take a closer look at the coin as he furrows his brows deep in thought. “We should run some tests on it. Make sure it’s at least safe for us to handle. Billy, can you--”

“On it. I can run a basic diagnostic scan, but the rest will have to wait until after I get Zordon back online.” Billy eagerly snatches up the green coin from Trini’s hand and without another word, heads over to one of the control panels with Alpha 5 hot on his heels.

Jason takes a moment simply just to watch Billy with pure adoration and then turns his attention back to Trini. “So what happened to Tommy?” 

“Gone.”

“Whoa. Gone like as in nothin’ but Tommy bits all over gone?” 

“No, idiot.” Trini gives Zack a swift playful slap in the shoulder with her good hand. “I mean gone as in nothing. No traces or anything.”

“You think he survived?” Jason quietly pipes up looking slightly lost in his own thoughts.

“Dunno.” Trini gives a light shrug of her shoulders, not really knowing how to explain it. “I set off the device, and when I came to, there was no sign of him. Just the coin.”

Jason gives a nod in response, letting this information fully sink in. He takes a sobering breath and then, “Well, let’s talk to Zordon when Billy gets him back on up and go from there. Think it’s safe to say, though, that even if he did survive, he wouldn’t be doing much of anything any time soon. Especially without that coin.”

“Sure,” Trini replies letting a slight awkwardness fall between them. She absentmindedly pulls out the last power coin from her pocket with her good hand and starts to trace it’s neon pink center with her fingers.

_ The pink power coin... Kimberly’s pink power coin. _

_ Trini’s dying-- No. Scratch that. Is there a word that stronger than death?  If there is, then that’s what she is at the moment.  _

_ Every inch of her entire being is craving just to even know if Kimberly is okay, let alone to be in her presence once again. _

_ After all that has transpired in the last 48 hours, Trini wants nothing than to just curl up, deep into her girlfriend’s arms and forget about life for a while.  _

_ But is she still even her girlfriend anymore?  _

_ Hell, is she even okay?   _

_ No, the boys would have told her by now if it wasn’t the case.  If Kimberly hadn’t have made it-- _

“She’s okay,” Jason softly says, snapping Trini out of her train of thought.

“Huh?”

Jason gives a slight head nod towards the power coin in Trini’s hand. “Kimberly. She’s okay. Well, as okay as she can be. Tommy did a real number on her. We had to sedate her shortly after Zack brought her back. She was hell-bent on going after you. Took both Zack and me to hold her down.”

“Can I see her?” Trini asks with a hint of a tremble to her voice. 

“Thought you’d never ask,” Jason responds with his signature fatherly smile. He wraps his arm around Trini’s shoulder and then gently steers her in the direction of the med bay.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Trini lingers in the doorway of the med bay, unable to will herself to enter. Her eyes are locked in on one thing and one thing only…

_ Kimberly. _

Kimberly peacefully sleeps in one of the bed, covered head to toe with a fresh set of bandages. 

“The drugs should’ve worn off by now,” Jason states as he joins Trini in the doorway. “She took another bad blow to her head, but according to Alpha 5, there’s no permanent damage.”

“Right,” Trini mumbles, shifting a bit from foot to foot. 

_ God, how Trini just wants to race over towards the bed, wrap her arms around Kim, and never let her go… but there’s an overwhelming and powerful fear, growing deep down inside of her, that’s currently overriding her ability to move.  _

_ All she can do is stare…  _

Suddenly, Trini feels the warmth of Jason’s hand against her shoulder, as it gives her a light but reassuring squeeze. 

“Go get your girl.”

Trini manages to give Jason a small nod in return and then, with all the courage she can muster, makes her way across the room towards Kimberly. She sidles herself up to the bed, being extra precautions not to bump or jostle anything.

“Hey, Beautiful.” Trini reaches out and gently strokes Kimberly’s hair, carding her fingers through her wavy raven locks. 

Kimberly’s eyes flutter open at the sound of Trini’s voice. A faint smile stretches across her pale pink lips as her tootsie roll eyes focus in on the sight before her. “Trini?”

“That’s my name,” Trini responds with a slight hint of loving sarcasm to her voice. She matches Kimberly’s smile, trying her best to hold back the flood of tears brimming in her eyes.

“Oh my god! Trini! You’re… You’re…,” Kimberly can’t seem to spit her words out fast enough. She springs upwards, completely ignoring her vast array of injuries, and throws her arms around Trini, engulfing her in an all-encompassing hug. 

“I’m here,” Trini whispers back into the crook of Kimberly’s neck. She deeply inhales, letting Kimberly distinct scent of lavender mixed with a hint of vanilla invade every inch of her body with a calm, soothing presence.

“I thought… I thought…” Kimberly chokes out in between sobs as tears fall freely down her cheeks.  

“Shhh. I know. But I’m okay. Promise. Everything’s gonna be okay.” 

And with that, Trini can no longer hold back her tears. They rain down her cheeks as well, as wave after wave of emotions crashes down upon her. 

After a moment or two, Trini lifts her head up out of the safe confines of Kimberly’s neck and swallows back the ever-growing lump in her throat. “I’m so sorry.”

A somewhat stunned expression sweeps across Kimberly’s face as her registers Trini’s words. She holds Trini out at arm’s length, taking a good long look at her. “Trini?”

But Trini can’t bring herself to look Kimberly in the eyes. Instead, she focuses in on her beat up converse, as the tear keeps on coming. There’s just no way to stop them now that they’ve started.

“Trini, look at me,” Kimberly states as she reaches out and gently cups Trini’s chin with a hand, gliding it upwards until they are once again eye to eye.

_ Oh god, those eyes. _

_ How those rich, chocolate brown eyes can say and do so much with just one single glance. _

_ Trini could get lost in those eyes forever… _

“I love you.” Kimberly smiles through her tears. “And nothing is going to change that. Okay?”

“Okay,” Trini responds with a similar look of pure, undiluted adoration. 

“Good. Now get your ass in here.” Kimberly scoots over on the bed, making room for Trini and holds up the blanket. “Cause I want to cuddle with my girlfriend.”

Trini carefully crawls up into the bed, falling comfortably into Kimberly’s body. She lets her head collapse down onto the pillow as she feels Kimberly’s arms wrap around her waist. 

“I love you too, Beautiful.”

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Trini…” Kimberly playfully whines as she moves slightly out of reach of Trini’s lips. “We’re supposed to be studying.” 

“I am,” Trini mumbles as she hones back on in on Kimberly’s pulse point, peppering it with an array of kisses. “I’m... studying... the... human... anatomy….”

“God, you’re such a cheeseball.” 

“Me? Please. I’m nuthin’ in comparison to you, Princess.” Trini flashes Kimberly a devilish smirk and then with a sudden burst of playful energy, grabs hold of Kimberly’s waist and flips them over on the bed, straddling Kimberly in the process. 

“Oh really?” Kimberly looks up at Trini, matching her smirk.

“Really,” Trini replies. She sits back on her legs, allowing herself a moment or two to fully take in the view before her and as she does, a singular thought flashes into her mind...

_ God, how she worships the goddess of a woman before her.  _

_ Sure, Trini has known -- almost from their first encounter in the quarry -- that she loves Kimberly. That’s always been a given. _

_ But through the course of events over the last few days, that sense of love has turned into something much more deeper. Something seemingly unbreakable. _

After a few hours of much-needed rest and healing, they had gone back to Trini’s house in an attempt to smooth things over with Trini’s mom. And when things went south once again, it had been Kimberly, who swooped in, and pulled Trini out of there. 

And it had been Kimberly, who requested. No. Scratch that. Demanded that her parents take Trini in. And of course, they did with open arms… and maybe a few minor ground rules as well.

Yes, Trini knows that there’s still a lot to figure out, but for the first time in a long while, she feels completely and utterly safe. 

 

“Whatcha thinking?” Kimberly asks as Trini snaps out of her thoughts.

“Nuthin’,” Trini playfully replies as she grabs a hair tie from her around her wrist and pulls her hair up into a messy bun, exposing her severely overgrown undercut.

Kimberly takes one good look at Trini’s hair and without another moment’s hesitation, sits up and scoots herself out from underneath Trini. 

“Where are you going?” 

But Kimberly doesn’t respond. She simply disappears out of her bedroom and then returns a moment later, clippers in hand. She grabs her desk chair and flips it around. “Take a seat.”

“I don’t remember agreeing to this.”

“That’s cause I didn’t ask.” Kimberly playfully pats the desk chair. “Take a seat.”

Trini gets up and plops herself down in the chair with a bit of exaggerated sigh. “Fine.”

“Good,” Kimberly hums in response as she pulls out Trini’s hair tie and begins to card her fingers through her ombre locks.

“Kim?”

“Yeah?” 

“I think…” Trini trails off for a brief moment, an attempt to find her words. “I think I’m ready for you to cut it shorter.”

Kimberly instantly stops moving her finger through Trini’s hair. “Really?”

“Yeah. Really.”

“What about your mom?”

“I really don’t care anymore what she thinks. Or anyone else.” Trini slightly stops herself on those words, realizing that they might be taken the wrong way. “Not anyone as in you. I just meant--”

But before Trini can finish her sentence, Kimberly's lips are upon hers, passionately kissing her with an overwhelming abundance of love. 

After a few moments, Trini pulls out of the kiss as a cocky smile crawls across her face. “Just don’t fuck it up, Princess.”

“Never.”

With that, Trini shuts her eyes as she feels Kimberly start back to work, ever so gently running her fingers through her hair. 

_ And at the moment, one thing and one thing only is absolutely certain for Trini… There isn’t anything in the world that she wouldn’t do for Kimberly Hart.  _

_ Anything. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... that's it, folks. At least for now. Have a few one-shots that I might post up in a few weeks and am also working on a new multichapter trimberly story called "The Long Game" as well. The plan is to post up the prologue in the next week, so stay tuned.
> 
> Thank you all again for all of the kudos / feedback / comments! I've really enjoyed writing this and still am in slight disbelief that so many of you have enjoyed it as well.
> 
> Tumblr: @jessh-d


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